The Curse of Kalla Bong
by TheSwedishMystery
Summary: Set after season seven. The Elders discover that Paige might not be their real sister and The Charmed Ones are falling apart. Just when they need each other the most.
1. An Introduction

Disclaimer: I do not own the concept of "Charmed". This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

This is the first part in a complicated and maybe somewhat confused trilogy about The Charmed Ones.

_Author's Note - This is my first fanfic ever. English is not my mother tongue so please forgive me for all the bad spelling and unimaginative language. I just had to get the story out of my head and I am very grateful for anybody who reads the damn thing._

Chapter 1. – Introduction 

It was a cold and rainy day in October, around lunchtime, when Benny's team met their new client for the first time.

The sky was so dark that all the streetlights outside were already lit, when Benny and his three colleagues arrived at one of San Francisco's most expensive and over-designed hotels.

No one in the hotel lounge noticed them walking in – because all four in the team were invisible to the human eye. If the team had chosen to be seen by us ordinary mortals on that particular time, everyone in the hotel lobby probably would have panicked. Some would even have screamed and other would have fainted.

Why?

Well, because Benny and his team is Kalla Bong.

If any of you readers don't know what a Kalla Bong is - that is highly understandable. Very few know they exist. Very few non-demon-warlock-powerbroker-or-your ordinary-Underworld-citizen that is. This is because Kalla Bong belongs to the Underworld.

Benny's new client had of course chosen a room on the highest floor, the one with the best view. This meant a long and hard climb for Benny and his teamsters.

You see; the problem for Kalla Bong is that they have very low density. They are somewhat transparent - which means they can go through walls and doors. On the other hand they have very difficult to stay put on things that are moving, like an elevator for example. Unlike most of the Underworld's creatures they cannot shimmer. At all. No one knows this in the Underworld. It is a well-kept secret Kalla Bong wants to keep to themselves.

Therefore they have invented this very complicated technique that simulates shimmering. It requires extreme amounts of energy, seven potatoes and an approval from the Kalla Bong Ministry of Transportation. Unfortunately Benny didn't have a transportation approval for this particular assignment so he and three colleagues had to climb all seventeen stairs to meet their new client - Mr. Ledin.

While the poor Kalla Bong is climbing the stairs, let me describe them for you so you might understand why their appearances would have caused panic in the hotel lobby downstairs - if Benny and his team had chosen to be visible.

Kalla Bong are small, pear-shaped, slightly wrinkled beings. They have one or two eyes, a pair of arms and no legs. Kalla Bong glow a little bit in the dark and their colors can range from dark cobalt blue to greenish yellow. The Kalla Bong in California usually has pink or a deep lilac tone. Some say Kalla Bong look a little like the slimers in the movie "Ghostbusters"(I'm talking about the first film not the sequel) - you know the ghosts that Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray and their team catches on their first mission. There is a certain similarity… but don't say that to a Kalla Bong because they would get very offended. Most Kalla Bongs have very little patience with ghosts and poltergeists in general. They see them as creatures with no goal or purpose and if you knew a Kalla Bong you would know that there is no one more goal-oriented and serious as a Kalla Bong.

If you still are unsure whether it is a poltergeist or a Kalla Bong there is one little detail that can help you. All Kalla Bong bears a gun-belt. Instead of a gun they have a banana. No one knows why.

-------

After the long climb Benny finally stood in front of his new client - a tall, attractive man with gray hair, intelligent eyes and expensive, tailored clothes of European cut. The man greeted them warmly, and with a politeness uncommon in the Underworld. He then opened a bottle of champagne and offered courteously the two women in Benny's team a glass each. He gave Agneta, the younger of the two female Kalla Bong, a flirty smile and she smiled seductively back and blushed at the same time, turning into a shade of deep purple.

Benny felt a headache arriving together with irritation. This was exactly why he opposed women working in the field; they were far too emotional, unfocused and easy manipulated. Working with demons was dangerous; you had to constantly be at your guard. The only reason Agneta was on his team was the fact that her father was First Bong of The Holy Tomato Order, a very high position in the Kalla Bong society.

"I am so pleased that you are finally here! This is such a happy moment for my associates and me - I have so looked forward to this! Here, have some Cristal..." the man gave Benny and Björn, the other male Kalla Bong in his team, a glass of the bubbling liquid. "Let's make a toast! To an inspiring and successful partnership in this new adventure we will embark upon together! Skål!"

Benny and his teammates echoed the client and drank the champagne in one gulp. They couldn't help to feel a little bit overwhelmed at the man's enthusiasm. Usually their clients held them at arms length and treated them with ill concealed contempt. Kalla Bong was well respected in the Underworld but at the same time no one really could stand them.

"My name is Mr. Ledin. I am a high level demon who recently has returned home from my businesses in Europe to finally do something that I have been craving for centuries. I want to destroy The Charmed Ones! Not just kill them, I want to crush them, obliterate them... I want to make them feel the pain and emptiness they have caused me. Yes, it is time to bring those wretched bitches Halliwell to their knees, to bend them over and let them taste the bitter taste of defeat once and for all. I have long waited for my revenge on The Charmed Ones and with your help I will get what is rightfully mine. So my new friends; here's to the destruction of The Charmed Ones!"

-------

To be continued in "Chapter 2. - Benny's First Report"...


	2. Benny's First Report

Chapter 2. – Benny's First Report

Benny's Report, Day 5  
After almost one week Benny's team was fully installed under The Halliwell Mansion. They found that the sewers under the house was warm, humid and full with interesting fungus that smelled a lot - just the way Kalla Bong likes it.

All their equipment was now up and running. Benny was especially happy with being able to tap into the Internet connected to the house. Björn, one of Benny's junior agents, had made it possible for them to monitor all the internet activity coming in and out of The Halliwell Mansion.

Now it was time to give his first report to their client - Mr. Ledin.

* * *

Benny went alone to the second meeting with his client. He preferred it that way, alone he would be able to closely watch Mr. Ledin without the distraction of having to worry about any of his younger agents.

This time Mr. Ledin had rented a luxurious conference room across town. It was on the eighteenth floor with a fabulous view over the city, which meant another exhausting climb for the legless Kalla Bong.

Again Mr. Ledin met him with an overwhelming enthusiasm and respect that was bewildering. Demons were never polite or respectful but rather straightforward and rude. A behavior Benny had come to appreciate over the years.

"So tell me, have you and your agents been able to settle down close to the house for surveillance?" Mr. Ledin asked as he served Benny Colombian coffee and Danish bread.

"Actually Mr. Ledin. We live right under them, in the sewers." Said Benny as he took a bite of the Danish bread – it tasted truly delicious.

"Ah, how perfect! I hope it is not too much of a discomfort for you living there?"

"Actually it is quite nice."

Mr. Ledin gave him an intrigued look. Benny never liked that - clients who where curious of the lives of Kalla Bong.

* * *

Right now, you, my dear reader, are probably wondering; what exactly IS a Kalla Bong? What is it that Kalla Bong DOES? Well, it's complicated…

The best way to describe the Kalla Bong's function is to say that they are the private investigators of Underworld. They know almost every secret there is to know of the The Evil Realm and that is one of the reasons that they are so despised by all the other evil species.

Beside that, the Kalla Bongs are known for their focus, efficiency and loyalty - they are one of the few, maybe the only ones in the Underworld that never breaks a promise or a commitment. They never strive for power - they strive for control. Kalla Bong believes that the only way to gain control is by controlling the information.

Kalla Bong can stay invisible to most creatures on earth, which means that they can do their business undisturbed. Furthermore some of them have a small amount of telepathic or emphatic power, which is a good thing if you are working in the investigating business.

They are also somewhat of the Underworlds equivalent to Leprechauns… in a way… they do not have the power of luck or anything, they rather make things happen - they are catalysts. If they actively meddle in the things they are investigating, they set things in motion… BIG things. Anything can happen! Which is an explanation to why Kalla Bong strives for control. They feel if they have all the information they possibly can have, maybe then they have a chance of controlling what they set in motion.

They are by all means the Underworlds best kept secret - the Elders know almost nothing about them thanks to their discreet and professional way of working. They are everywhere and they are monitoring and influencing some of the most important leaders of today. Trust me when I tell you this - more or less every presidential election anywhere in the World the last thirty years has some Kalla Bong involvement…

* * *

"So, Benny what do you have for me? How have you set up your work? Do you have anything of substance to report to me already?" Mr. Ledin was ready to get to business and he sounded very eager to hear everything Benny was about say.

"Yes. As I told you before - we set up a base under their house so that we can monitor them and move freely around the house. Each of my agents has been assigned to a Halliwell female in the house." Benny wanted Mr. Ledin to understand that he and his team was very serious and methodical about their mission.

"Good thinking! So how are things in the Halliwell household? I want to know EVERYTHING about them! What kind of people are the girls? What do they like? What don't they like? Do they get along? What are they doing? What kind of hobbies do they have? Do they have hobbies? Who or what will they vote for in the coming elections? Are they going to vote? Are they happy? Are they bitter? How is the magic life treating them? I want it ALL, Benny!" Mr. Ledin sounded very manic when he was talking and he made a sweeping movement with his right arm that would have knocked Benny out if the Kalla Bong hadn't ducked in the nick of time.

"Well… we will do our best to answer all your questions but some of them will take some more time. I hope you have the patience and understanding for our work Mr. Ledin. Furthermore I think we need to define the nature of our assignment, the exact purpose of… " Benny tried to address the importance of defining their mission and at the same time stay out of reach from Mr. Ledin's flailing arms.

"Yes, yes we will get to all that later, but now just give me a quick report on how things are in that house!" Mr. Ledin had started to pace around impatiently in the room.

"From what we gathered so far is following; it has been a rather calm period for the sisters, after that whole incident with Mr. Gideon - you know, the former mystic and teacher at The Magic School… They try to act normal but it is obvious that they are all pretty shook up since the death of young Chris Per… "

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute! What are you saying, is the young whitelighter dead?" Mr. Ledin stopped and turned towards Benny with an angry look on his face.

"Yes, haven't you heard that? That's the only thing the Underworld been talking about these last three months." Benny was a little surprised that Mr. Ledin didn't know this consider his all-consuming hate towards the sisters.

"Why haven't I been informed about this before? Don't tell me that… that DOLT of a husband to the oldest sister is back as a whitelighter! That could seriously mess up my plans!"

Benny didn't like the way his client looked. Mr. Ledin was absolutely furious and he was starting to ramble about associates and who to trust.

"We don't know if he is their whitelighter anymore. From what we gathered he has hardly been there since the birth of his second son. You know there is some speculation that the deceased young whitelighter was in fact their second son… sent from the future to protect his older brother from turning evil. " Mr. Ledin was starting to frighten Benny with this sudden outburst.

"Is it true?" Mr. Ledin stood right over Benny and looked him straight in the eyes.

"It would make sense."

"He he he, that would make them all kind of anguished and tormented right?"

"Yes."

"Excellent!" Mr. Ledin gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace and his eyes glittered in a way that made Benny finally see the demon under his client's polished façade.

* * *

Benny suggested that he would continue with his report. It consisted mostly of Benny and his team's first hand impressions of the Halliwell sisters and hopefully Mr. Ledin could get some of his questions answered. Mr. Ledin sat down in of the room's expensive leather chairs and listened to him intensely.

"I will start with the oldest sister; Piper. I have assigned agent Björn to monitor her. She had her son three months ago as I said before, and though it was a rather difficult birth she is now fully recovered and spends all her time and devotion on her two sons. She seems to be a bit isolated and worried - Leo, the husband and father of her sons haven't showed up in the house for a loooong time. And she misses him, we can tell."

"Has Leo walked out of his wife and two kids? How utterly remarkable!" Mr. Ledin looked very amused at this fact.

"Indeed. Everyone talked of him as an Elder with the highest morale… We suspect he is on some kind of revenge bend for the murder of his son - the one who is now born. Yes, I know, it IS confusing! Leo seems to be the one who took Chris's death the hardest while Piper ironically enough is the one who is seems to be the least affected. Which is weird since she was the one who almost became a fury after her older sister, Prue's death."

"Interesting… do you have any theories?"

"Well… Piper is the mother figure of the Halliwell household. She was that even before her older sister died. Piper was the one who opposed the magical life and all the dangers that followed, the most. Yet she is the one with the aggressive witch power. She can explode things with her mere hands. Other than that she has the power to stop time. Piper is the worrywart of the family but at the same time she is extremely grounded and matter-of-factly. This is why we think she understands that Chris is alive, he is three months old and he needs her - that is her only focus right now - to love her sons and to protect them. I also think that Piper knows that magic is the ONLY way for her to protect them."

"But why doesn't that dimwit whitelighter of hers understand that?"

"Since he is never around we haven't really gotten a clear picture of who he is. As to your other questions regarding Piper: She likes to try out old recipes in her kitchen. She can watch her sons when they sleep for hours and hours. She doesn't like how the other two sisters messes up in the kitchen or in any other part of the house for that matter. Piper absolutely HATES surprises since she feels most of them are bad. As I said before she is isolated and worried about her husband and her sons right now, but other than that she is quite content. She gets along fine with her sisters as long as they don't mess up her kitchen or when she is in a grouchy mood. The mood is a hormonal thing that will pass says her doctor. We think that she is a republican but that is pure speculation on our behalf. Björn heard her say something positive about Anne Coulter in the kitchen once." Benny felt proud of his junior agent, it was a brilliant analysis of the oldest sister and Benny couldn't have done it better himself.

"An absolutely excellent first report! Give my congratulations to Björn! Now lets hear about the middle sister… Phoebe?"

"Thank you Mr. Ledin. That's right Phoebe is the middle sister, former youngest sister of the Halliwells. I have assigned agent Agneta to monitor Phoebe and… "

"Agneta, that's the pretty pink one, isn't it?"

"Yes… if you let me continue. Phoebe as you know, works as an advice columnist. She is very popular and has a lot of readers. As for her witchy life… The Tribunal recently stripped her of her active powers - empathy, premonitions and levitation. She has yet to earn them back."

"So she is entirely without power?" This was a fact that made Mr. Ledin very excited.

"Phoebe is still a witch, she can still cast spells and is well trained in Martial Arts so she is not harmless. She is without a doubt the most creative of them when it comes to making quick spells. The funny thing is that I was told she was the one of the sisters who embraced magic the most, but since we came to the manor I have gotten the impression she is actually the one who wants out of the magic life. She hasn't really tried to earn back her powers and she seems restless and distant."

"How come?"

"My theory is that the death of that young whitelighter, her nephew, made her think that the price of magic and fighting the good fight, was too high. She wants a real life and seeing Piper alone with two magical children made Phoebe realize that she isn't getting any younger and it is time for her to fulfill her dreams before it is too late."

"So what are her dreams?"

"The hard part for Phoebe is that her dreams change from day to day. I have never seen so much indecisiveness or in-continuity in my entire career! It is like she has an attention span of zero! Other than that I can tell you that she is secretly working on a radio deal and a stint at a TV show but hasn't had the guts to tell her sisters about it. She LOVES attention and doesn't seem to distinguish between good attention and bad attention. That can result in very destructive behavior if she's not careful. Her other weaknesses are handsome dark men and shiny things. As you can imagine it's hard to pinpoint exactly what Phoebe likes and dislikes since it changes all the time, but this is as close as we can get. She pretends to get along with her sisters right now but our impression is that she tries to be at home as little as possible. We have absolutely no idea of who she will vote for in the coming election, she can go either way depending on…eh… anything."

"Wow! Again a very good report! Please, will you take this box of chocolates to your beautiful little agent as a token of my appreciation?"

Benny took the box with a small sigh. Agneta was a total useless agent. She had done very little this week, besides surfing the Internet and telling everyone how good Phoebe dressed. Most of the report was Benny's own thoughts on the middle sister.

* * *

They took a small pause and Mr. Ledin again proved he was an excellent host and served Benny more coffee and the best cognac he ever tasted. Afterwards they smoked a cigar.

"So tell me about the youngest one, Paige Matthews."

"Paige Matthews is their half sister. She moved into the house three years ago, replacing Prue - the oldest sister that was murdered, as a Charmed One. No one of them knew each other before that so it must have been quite a shock, for everyone. Paige have accepted and learned magic amazingly fast. Almost too fast… She is like Piper's two sons - half witch, half whitelighter. She can orb herself and other things. I have assigned agent Annifrid to monitor Paige. "

"What do you mean 'too fast'?"

"I don't have the entire answer to this question, but what normal person accepts that she is a witch and has to fight evil in almost no time at all? Paige even gave up her job as a social worker to become a better witch and support her new sisters. This summer Paige has been helping Piper with her children and Piper's club - P3. Paige has also been the only sister who has been reading up on magic during this time. Why is she always over compensating? Is she THAT insecure about her relationship with her new family? Unlike the other sisters, she was in the police register. We are still waiting for them to send us all the files. Maybe we can find some more insight to… "

"You will find some really interesting stuff, trust me! You should also try to get her files from Social Services."

"We're waiting for them too. I don't understand how hard it can be to e-mai… Stop there for a second Mr. Ledin, do you know something about Paige Matthews that we don't?"

"Lets just say that Paige and I have some history together. And don't you worry, Benny - you will know everything you need to know in those old files that they are sending you. Now, let me hear more of your thoughts on my little friend Paige Matthews." Mr. Ledin looked like he hardly could contain himself from telling Benny what he knew.

Benny loathed the fact that Mr. Ledin was hiding things from him. He hated surprises as much as Piper Halliwell did.

"Paige tries to be cheerful for Piper's sake but we don't buy that - after Leo she seems to be taking Chris Perry's death the hardest. Paige gets along well with her sisters and looks up to them quite a bit. She loves helping people and hates being alone. Since she is a social worker and the fact that she went to the cinema and saw 'Fahrenheit 911' makes us think it's a safe bet that she will vote for the democrats." Annifrid wasn't a bimbo like Agneta and her analysis of the young witch, was solid. Benny was thankful but he still didn't like to work with female Kalla Bongs – he was just too old fashioned for that.

"This is brilliant Benny! You and your team have impressed me very much. This bodes well for the future." Mr. Ledin clapped his hands.

"I am glad that you are satisfied with our work Mr. Ledin. But I still think there are matters of this assignment that we need to discuss. What is the exact purpose us spying on The Charmed Ones? What are your plans and what are we looking for?" Benny held his breath for a moment because this was the most important part of the meeting for his part. Mr. Ledin had so far been very elusive with the details of their whole operation.

"Your job is to continue to spy on the Charmed Ones and report to me what is happening in the Halliwell household. There is also the task of finding this... thing for me. Something that those wretched bitches have stolen from me."

"What thing?"

"I can't tell you exactly what it is but you will definitely know when you find it. My best guess is that it is probably the most guarded thing in the whole house "

"You wants us to find something that they stole from you, but you don't know what it is?"

"Now don't be such a pessimist Benny! This is going to be fun, trust me! My associates and me have a BIG surprise planned for The Charmed Ones. Something that will rock their world! Something that will eventually destroy them." The laughter that followed that sentence was deeply disturbing even for an old, seasoned Kalla Bong like Benny, who had worked with some of the Underworld's most twisted minds.

* * *

So there it was - Benny's new employer wanted them to spy on the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches in this part of the hemisphere. Mr. Ledin also wanted them to find and retrieve an unknown object of great importance for him that was hidden in the Halliwell Mansion. Benny sighed - he knew there was more at stake for Mr. Ledin than simple revenge - he wanted the girls dead or worse - hurt in every possible way. Mr. Ledin truly hated the Charmed Ones and he would stop at nothing to make them suffer.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 3. - Leo Drops The Bomb"...


	3. Leo Drops The Bomb

Chapter 3. – Leo drops the bomb

Benny's Report, Day 14  
It was an ordinary Wednesday morning and Benny and his team had started to get the hang of how the sisters lived their lives on Prescott Street. They knew that Chris was the first human to wake up at seven o'clock. He would subsequently wake up his older brother and together they woke up Piper with their wailing. Paige would go up half an hour later and make breakfast for everyone. Phoebe was the last one up; she was always so late to her job that she never had the time to sit down to eat with her sisters. Benny suspected that she did this intentionally.

This Wednesday morning was different – before Phoebe was able to escape through the door, Leo had shown up with a grim look on his face. Benny paid attention immediately; he knew something of great importance was about to happen. He also suspected that Mr. Ledin and his so far unknown associates had something to do with whatever the whitelighter was about to say. But Benny would never have been able to guess how devastating the news would be to the sisters - news that would break the Halliwell family apart.

* * *

"Well, well look at that! The prodigal father returns!" Phoebe said with a smirk on her face.

"Shut up Phoebe. Leo! Where have you been? Do you have any idea of how worried I have been and your so… " Piper looked worriedly at her husband who directed her to sit down. He obviously had something important to say.

"Please Piper, I have some very important things to tell you." Leo looked haggard and tired. "You better sit down."

"Ok, but you better be quick Leo because I have a deadline and it has to be… " Phoebe tried her best at looking very stressed and busy so that she could get out of the kitchen before Leo delivered the bad news. He looked so upset; it couldn't be anything other than bad news.

"Shut up Phoebe. What's up Leo? Is it another rising in the underworld? Another Source?" Paige was all business, ready to go off fighting demons in an instant.

"Paige… you might want to sit down as well when I tell you what I have to say." Leo pointed at one of the empty chairs around the kitchen table. Paige reluctantly sat down.

She sat down beside Piper. The three sisters were all giving Leo their absolute attention and the kitchen was totally silent except for little Wyatt who was munching on a banana. After three seconds of silence Leo's theatrical pause almost became unbearable. He looked at them, struggling with the words he was about to say.

"Well, it looks like… I don't know how to say this… but it looks like Paige might not be your sister."

"WHAT!" Phoebe was the first one to react.

"What are you talking about? How can she not be…?" Piper looked very upset, almost angry.

Phoebe started to ramble:  
"Of course she is our sister! I would know this, I feel this!"

"You tell them Elders that they finally crossed the line! They have played with our lives and emotions for the last time!" Piper got up from her chair and started to pace around the kitchen.

"Where is Ma or Grams? THEY can tell us the truth! Tell them to come down here and explain everything this minute!" Phoebe was more or less shouting at this point while her older sister continued to walk around and curse everything that lived up in heaven.

"Piper, Phoebe! Please!" Leo's voice cut through the sister's protests. "I know this is painful and hard but you need to listen to what I am saying. After Gideon's betrayal and… and… Chris's death, no one of the Elders, including me, knew what to believe anymore. For a while accusations flew in every direction, paranoia and talk about conspiracies was the only thing we were capable of, up in heaven. I must admit that I was probably among them who were the loudest of them all." As Leo told them this he was looking at youngest son with pain written on his face.

"With good reason Leo. With good reason… " When Piper said this she couldn't help giving him an encouraging smile. She still loved him dearly but she also felt how far they had drifted from each other.

Leo continued:  
"After a while all the Elders calmed down and started an investigation. The investigation uncovered that there actually WAS a conspiracy and that there still is."

"A conspiracy among the Elders! That's absurd!" Phoebe couldn't help sounding off her doubts.

"Please let me finish Phoebe." Leo said. He knew that the sisters would be upset but it was grating his nerves to be constantly interrupted. "You say it's absurd, but still Gideon was able to murder Chris and HE was an Elder. There is still a conspiracy out there that is trying to kill Chris and Wyatt, trying to prevent two very magical children from growing up and become maybe even more powerful than the Elders… "

"Oh wow! But that doesn't explain Paige not being our sister." Phoebe still didn't want to believe a word Leo had said.

"This conspiracy has been around for a very long time, trying to prevent The Charmed Ones from gaining more power. We just uncovered some documents and that clearly states that Paige isn't your sister. She was placed here to weaken the Charmed Ones but the whole thing misfired and she actually saved you instead of destroying you. Please understand this – Paige herself has nothing to do with this conspiracy. She was merely a tool. She knew nothing of this. Paige is as much of a victim as you are." Leo said trying to explain how he had started to believe this impossible scenario.

"This is crazy! What do Elders say?" Phoebe was still doubtful.

"They don't know what to do right now… some have even been talking about reinstating the original Charmed Ones with Prue but… " Leo stopped and regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

"Can they do that?" The hopefulness in Piper's voice was so apparent for everyone in the kitchen it was embarrassing. Phoebe even winced when she saw the look of Paige's face when Piper vented her most secret wish – to get Prue back.

Finally Leo spoke. "It was decided against that. Piper, you have no idea how hard it is to turn someone who is dead into a permanently living person again. It is just wrong to do that, so many things can go wrong on so many levels."

"Then send Mom and Grams down here NOW so we can sort this thing out!"

"We can't… do that. Since we don't know what the threat is we can't really risk them coming down here. Besides, they have all been relocated to a safer place." Leo didn't want to get into more details since he actually knew very little of the dead Halliwell Women's whereabouts.

"There is a safer place than heaven?" Phoebe looked totally perplexed.

"Phoebe, I can't say more right now – it is all very complicated since Gideon's death and no one really knows what and who to believe anymore. Their location is very top secret. All I can say is that they are safe in another realm right now."

"In another REALM?" Phoebe was still totally baffled of the fact that there were other realms out there and some of them were even safer than heaven.

"Yes. So you don't need to worry about them. I must go now but I promise that I will come back as soon as get more information." Leo wanted to wrap up the whole discussion so that he could get back to business.

"Leo… " Piper didn't want him to go. They looked at each other and for Piper it felt like it was a giant abyss between them. This time it was Leo that offered her a little encouraging smile.

"I will be back as soon as I can, I promise. Now promise me that you start to look after yourselves and the boys. OK?" Leo almost started to orb before Piper reached out to him.

"Let me follow you out." Which was a pretty stupid thing for Piper to say to her whitelighter husband who could orb from wherever he stood. Everyone in the kitchen, except maybe Leo himself understood that Piper needed some time alone with her estranged husband.

Piper more or less had to drag him out to the garden.

* * *

Left in the kitchen were Phoebe, Paige and the little boys. Paige hadn't said a word since Leo had dropped his bomb about her not being their sister. Her face was white, paler than Phoebe ever seen Paige's face before.

"Paige?"

"Yes?" Paige looked up and Phoebe could see that her sister was struggling hard to keep it together. Paige's hands were shaking so much that she dropped the spoon she was holding. The clattering sound of the spoon falling to the floor made Wyatt cry. After two seconds Chris started crying as well.

"I… I better go to work now… otherwise Elise will have my head for lunch… We will all talk about this in the evening when I come back. OK?" After those affirming words Phoebe fled to her office. She kept saying to herself that she left because she wanted to give Paige some time alone to recover from the shock, but deep down inside Phoebe knew that she had bailed, when her little sister needed her the most.

* * *

In the garden Leo turned to Piper.  
"Listen to me Piper, I feel I can't trust anyone up there anymore and I want you to do the same!"

"What do you mean Leo?" She looked at him

"I mean it Piper! Trust no one! They are after our children and you must do everything you can to protect them."

"What are you saying? Should I stop trusting Paige? C'mon Leo, you know she would rather die a thousand deaths than let anything happen to Wyatt and Chris." She turned her back at him as if she wanted to hide how conflicted her feelings were.

"I'm not telling that Piper, but you must remember; if these documents are true then Paige is a tool in this great conspiracy that wants to destroy the Charmed Ones and kill our sons." When Leo said this he turned her around and wiped off a tear from her cheek.

Then he orbed out. Leaving Piper in the garden with a hammering heart and a feeling of heartbreaking loneliness that chilled her bones. "Goodbye… " She whispered to the few glowing white orbs from her husbands departure that were slowly fading in the cold morning air.

* * *

Benny and his team wildly discussed the morning's events that whole day. They all suspected that Mr. Ledin was behind this latest development. The whole team thought it was absolutely brilliant.

When the night came Benny's team reported back; it was obvious that the three sisters were deeply disturbed by everything Leo had told them.

Björn told them that Piper had been occupied with her two children the whole day. She had even taken them with her when she went to check up some things at P3, never once asking Paige for help.

Agneta hadn't been able to keep up with Phoebe during the day much to Benny's frustration. Phoebe on the other hand hadn't come home yet. Benny guessed she probably would sneak into the house somewhere after midnight when everyone was asleep. Then again, nobody of the sisters would be able to sleep after everything that happened that morning.

Annifrid's report on Paige's reaction was definitely the most interesting one. Paige had stayed in her room all day. She had been sitting, curled up, on her bed most of the day looking straight ahead at nothing in particular. She was obviously in shock.

Annifrid who possessed some small telepathic ability told to Benny and the others that on some level Paige wasn't surprised at all. That Paige always known that it all would end - like every relationship she had with people she loved.

* * *

Later, when Benny was writing his report he couldn't help thinking that his client, Mr. Ledin would be very pleased to know about the recent development in the Halliwell household. He would be pleased but probably not surprised.

But somewhere in the back of Benny's structured and experienced mind he also wondered what kind of "associates" Mr. Ledin could have if he was able to cook up a conspiracy among the Elders.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 4. - A Star Is Born"...


	4. A Star Is Born

_Author's Note – When I started this fanfic my path was clear and I knew what kind of story I wanted to write. I still do. But the importance of getting feedback for my work startled me. So I salute you Succubus-69 and Gomay! Thank you so much for reading my story! _

_Being one of biggest lurkers I must admit I'm not very good at writing reviews myself. But I will do my best to be a better reviewer now that I know how important they can be :)  
_

Chapter 4. – A Star Is Born

Benny's Report, Day 28  
Benny was on his way back from his third meeting with his client Mr. Ledin. He was not in a very good mood. Mr.- Ledin had been very displeased with the lack of progress in finding the unknown but important object that was hidden somewhere in the sisters house. Benny had first believed it was the Book of Shadows, a fantastic compilation of magic information that Halliwell Women had kept for centuries, but his client had just scoffed at that idea.

"I said an IMPORTANT object, Benny! Not some dusty old book full off gossip and recipes. You have to look harder!"

Benny sighed inwardly at Mr. Ledin's stupidity – that book alone was more powerful than The Nexus under the Halliwell Mansion. If any demon could get the hands on that book and use it right, he would have the power to become the most powerful Source of all time.

Mr. Ledin had called Benny and his team a bunch of amateurs and informed Benny that he had enlisted some demonic help to speed things up a little. Benny was heartbroken by this news – demons always messed things up with their brutality and greed. It would make his work much harder. Impatience was foolish, especially now when things were so fragile in the Halliwell household.

Ever since that fateful morning when Leo had told them that Paige wasn't their true sister but a part of a sinister conspiracy to destroy Wyatt and Chris, the sisters had started to drift apart - each one of them trying to deal with the devastating information in their own way. Attacking demons would easily glue them back together and destroy all the work Mr. Ledin had done so far.

* * *

Piper had started to go on long walks in a nearby park with Wyatt and Chris since Leo had told her that Paige might not be her sister. After that day the house had felt contaminated. As if the conspiracy had infested the walls.

Piper had started to shut Paige out of her and the boy's life. It was tough but she needed to be hard as steel to protect her sons. When Chris (The Older Version) had died, Piper had been forced to concentrate on the things that were most important – her sons, to cope. It was almost like having tunnel vision. It had been the only way to survive and now she was forced to do that again.

In a way it was a blessing because she had gotten so much closer to Wyatt and Chris.

The hardest part was trying to exorcise Paige from the heart. Piper loved Paige and she knew that she would never be able to completely shut down her feelings for her little sister. But Piper felt that she had to protect herself. It had been so hard to accept Paige into her family in the first place – Piper had lost so many loved ones in her life and she didn't know if she could stand to lose another. So detaching herself from Paige was the only thing Piper could do to survive emotionally. She was all about survival mechanisms these days.

The walks were wonderful and calming. She started to say hello to the other parents who also visited the little playground in the corner of the park. It felt weirdly normal. After a while Piper got to know the other parents one by one and they all became her friends. Most of the moms and dads were all very impressed by the fact that she owned a club, which was extremely flattering. She couldn't help wondering what they would say if she told them that she was a witch that battled demons on a regular basis to save the world and protect innocent people.

Both Wyatt and Chris blossomed as they played with other kids and Piper was thankful to see them escape the tension in the house. She loved watching them from her bench in the park, playing and laughing like normal children.

Among the parents there was a woman, Esmeralda, which made Piper curious. She couldn't explain it but there was something about the young woman that felt so familiar. Esmeralda was a dark, beautiful woman with two small children, a boy and a girl, who used to come to the park every day around noon.

There was an aura of mystery around Esmeralda and the pain and sorrow Piper sometimes caught in the young woman's eyes reflected Piper's own. She felt compelled to help her new friend whatever what her problem was.

* * *

Phoebe was now officially one of San Francisco's hottest singles.

A very trendy and glossy magazine had an annual ranking of the city's hottest singles and Phoebe was on the cover as the number one hot single. It was the best advertising Phoebe and her column could have. Elise was extremely happy with her and Phoebe just loved the attention. Not to mention the gift packs she had been receiving after the flattering nomination.

Of course her sisters couldn't be happy for her. Piper had asked Phoebe to keep a low profile since she thought they were extra vulnerable for exposure when the news of the heavenly conspiracy unfolded. So Phoebe never told her about the radio show she would be hosting during spring or the fact that she was approached by a major cosmetic company to be their spokes woman.

Phoebe and Elise had during a lunch joked about Phoebe writing some kind of a book. To her surprise Elise had taken that idea seriously and that Monday morning she told Phoebe that she wanted Phoebe to take some time off to make the book happen. Elise had already gotten a ghostwriter to help her with the column.

"Elise I can't write a book!"

"Why not?"

"One; I'm a columnist not Ernest Hemingway. Two; I haven't got the slightest idea what to write in a book!"

"Well Phoebe, I had a meeting with John and Steve (Elise's creative team) about this and we… "

"Without me?"

"Listen to me! We came up with the idea that a 'Dr Phil-book' wouldn't be the best idea for you to do right now, especially since Jessica came out with her book."

Phoebe snorted, Jessica Folcker was her biggest rival in the advice columnist circuit and Jessica's advice was often the opposite of Phoebe's. Two weeks ago Jessica had called Phoebe a slut on a local radio station. Elise looked at Phoebe and as expected Phoebe's competitive side kicked in almost immediately at the mention of the other columnist.

"That bitch! Yeah, you're right Elise, lets write a book! What kind of book do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking it could be fiction. Channeling a young single and her hopes and dreams… add a contemporary feel and I think we will have a hit! It would have that kind of 'Sex In The City-vibe' you know. Have you read that book by Candace Bushnell? Very good book, bestseller… " Elise was starting to get warm in her clothes as she continued but Phoebe looked a little hesitant.

"Elise, I still don't understand what kind of book you want me to do." Phoebe had her doubts about the project and Piper's warnings about staying low until they had solved this new threat against Wyatt and Chris entered her mind. "Maybe right now isn't such a good idea… "

"What are you talking about? NOW is the time to do this book Phoebe! I have already hired someone to help you write it. Emilio, come in here please! Phoebe, I would like you to meet your new ghostwriter and collaborator – Emilio Ingrosso."

Phoebe looked up and couldn't help to gasp – the young man who entered the room was the sexiest man she had ever seen. He was Her Latino Dream!

"Nice to meet you Ms Halliwell." He smiled a perfect megawatt smile and Phoebe rushed to meet his outstretched hand while rambling on about how fun it would be to write a book with him.

Elise watched the two of them and she knew that she had Phoebe by hook, line and sinker. Phoebe was going to writing her a book that would sell a lot. It didn't really matter what sort of crap Phoebe and the male bimbo would write because it would sell anyway. Phoebe was very popular right now and Elise planned to make Phoebe a star! She had BIG plans for her columnist…

* * *

Since Piper no longer asked for her help, Paige started looking for temp jobs again. It hurt her to the bone that Piper had stopped letting her taking care of her nephews. Piper never told her directly that she was unwanted, but Paige knew.

The sisters hadn't really talked about the emotional aftermath of Leo's accusations, at least not with each other. Paige had tried to bring it up but none of her sisters were interested in talking about it with her. Paige desperately needed someone to talk to.

When Leo had told her that she might not be the real sister to Piper and Phoebe, her whole world had shattered. Everything she had believed about herself and everyone else around her in the last years turned out to be a cruel illusion. She felt out of place and unwanted.

Luckily the temp agency for had a job for her, a work that she for once actually was qualified for. An adoption agency needed an assistant and Paige's background, as social worker, was perfect for the job. Paige was a little nervous since she had been out of the work loop for some time and Jenny Davies; the woman she was supposed to assist, was exactly the kind of person Paige had strived to be when she was younger. Paige couldn't help admiring her new employer - Jenny was excellent at her work, extremely efficient and at the same time warm and empathic.

Thankfully she and Paige hit it off immediately. Over lunch they discovered that they both were adopted and had an intense discussion about the ramifications about being brought up in a foster family, sharing their experiences about the subject. Paige poured her heart out without mentioning the fact that she and her sisters were witches. It felt wonderful!

On the way back to the office Paige bumped into Richard. He looked as surprised as her. Beside him was a beautiful girl with bright red hair.

"Hey!" Paige smiled at him and couldn't help to feel a little heartbroken. Richard still looked incredibly cute.

"Hey Paige!" He looked happy to see her though the girl beside him didn't look happy at all.

"How are y…?" They asked the question simultaneously and started to laugh when they both interrupted each other. Paige felt warm in the presence of his smile and laughter - she had missed it.

"This is Lena Philipsson, my fiancée." The girl beside him outstretched her hand with a fake smile and blazing eyes. Lena knew competition when she saw it and she didn't like the situation at all.

"Nice to meet you! This is Jenny Davies, my new boss… " Paige turned towards her new boss who looked very amused.

"… And friend!" Jenny interrupted Paige and exchanged hellos with the couple. After the exchange there was a small uncomfortable silence until Jenny wisely started up a conversation with Lena about Lena's beautiful and expensive coat so that Paige and Richard could have a little moment to them selves.

"So Paige… how are things? I must say I like your new hair color – you look great as brunette."

"Thanks… " Paige didn't know what to say, she was a little overwhelmed at the whole meeting, bumping into him at the street.

"Still living the witchy life with your sisters?"

"Yeah…" Paige didn't want to go into details of how much her life had turned to shit the last month so she quickly changed the subject. "Sooo… engaged huh?"

"Yeah I know." Richard grinned at her. "Paige I want you to know that quitting magic was the best thing that ever happened to me. I want to thank you for being a part of… that whole process. Ever since that day my life had turned out so much better. "

That was unexpected. Paige had always had a guilty feeling toward Richard because how things ended. "Well, good that everything worked out for you Richard."

Jenny and Lena turned their attention towards them and Paige wanted to get away from this weird meeting as fast as she could.

"Well, congratulations to the both of you and good luck with the wedding." Paige gave Lena an honest smile to show the other girl that she really meant what she said.

"Goodbye Paige." Richard disappeared with Lena down the street, leaving Paige with a strange melancholic feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"That was uncomfortably awkward." Jenny said looking at her with a raised eye brow.

"Tell me about it." Paige couldn't help smile about the whole pathetic situation.

"Let me guess… His girlfriend's hair color is exactly your old hair color?"

"Ugh! Yeah… she even had the exact same hair cut."

"Now that's pathetic! You must spill all the juicy details to me some time."

Paige laughed. "Ok, if you by me lunch tomorrow I will tell you all about it." She wondered how she would spin that story without telling all the magic details.

"Deal! I love a good story and I'm betting yours will be good." Jenny smiled and they continued down the street.

* * *

Phoebe was contemplating her life on her way home. She felt like she was in the height of her career and it would be stupid to throw everything away because of paranoia. They had dealt with new conspiracies and demon attacks all the time. This new threat was no different from the last threat. It was important to have a life in between all those battles. As a matter of fact Phoebe felt it would be **WRONG** to not try to have a life and that was what she would be telling Piper when her big sister found out about the book deal, the radio show, the cosmetic deal and the talk show she would be developing.

All the thoughts of an enraged Piper made Phoebe nervous so she turned her thoughts on the dinner she just had with her new ghost writer, Emilio. He had turned out to be as attracted to her as she was to him. Their dinner had been nothing but foreplay.

Phoebe smiled at the memory. He had mentioned that he lived somewhere in the neighborhood she was driving through... Maybe she would phone him and say that she just came up with a new idea for the book. If she were lucky he would invite her to his place so that they could "talk" about it some more.

Phoebe picked up her mobile and dialed the number.

Piper's mind was on the mysterious Esmeralda and her two children when she arrived home after a long walk. She was caught off guard when the demon attacked her.

He crept up from behind when she was entering the living room and slugged her with his right hand that was four times as big as his left hand. It was as hard as a rock, Piper felt as if she had been beaten with a ton of bricks.

"Hand over those brats of yours or I will make you suffer a thousands deaths by my iron fist!"

Piper responded by exploding the ceiling over the demon. She had aimed at him but after the blow she saw everything in double. The rubble effectively buried him. It gave Piper the extra seconds she needed to set up the emergency protection force field around her sons with a couple of invisible crystals. It was a neat little trick Paige had come up with - not only were the stones invisible but the boys became invisible also.

"Nice trick, bitch! Where are they! Now you've made Sledgehammer mad!"

"Sledgehammer, what kind of a name is thaaaa… ?" That was the last thing Piper said before she was flown across the room. The moment she lost consciousness she thought she heard Paige's voice.

"Leo! Leo, you better come down here right now!" Paige stood in the living room entrance ready with a potion in her hand. She always carried one with her in her purse in case of situations like this. Paige had just arrived home from work when she saw the demon hit Piper so hard that she flew into the opposite wall.

"Whoever Leo is he won't be able to help you now." The demon grinned as he lunged at Paige.

Paige threw the potion as she orbed out of his way. She missed him by an inch and the potion made a mess on the floor. While she orbed to the other side of the room she tried to check that the boys and their protection force field were ok. She couldn't find them. As she looked for her nephews the demon managed to hit her over her back. She fell and felt all the air go out of her lungs. Paige rolled away from his second blow. His hand went through the wooden floor.

"Arrrgh, stay still witch, so that Sledgehammer can hammer you!" Sledgehammer looked furiously at her. "I just want the boys! My masters don't care if you live or die so just give the boys to me!"

"What do your masters want with Wyatt and Chris and why should I give them to you?"

"My masters want the boys for themselves, they would raise them as there own children. So it won't be so bad, you see. Not killing them… just giving them a nice, evil upbringing." Sledgehammer said this while he tried to assess how hurt Paige was. They were circling each other, both looking for an angle to attack.

"A nice and evil upbringing? You've got to be kidding me?" Paige would have laughed if her chest didn't hurt so much. She was rapidly losing strength and tried desperately not to show it.

Suddenly he threw the sofa at her and Paige barely escaped by orbing to the other side of the room. When she got there she slipped on the remains of her potion that were on the floor. Sledgehammer was over Paige in an instant. As he lifted his hand to give her the deathblow she orbed his hand into his head and the demon immediately imploded in a loud bang.

"Paige? Piper?" Leo arrived in a cloud of orbs just as Sledgehammer's last remains disappeared into the air. Paige pointed him in the direction of Piper. He found his wife in the corner of the room. She bled heavily from a gash in the forehead and was going into shock. Leo held his breath while he healed Piper; he hated to see her hurt and bleeding.

"Leo, the boys!" Piper opened her eyes and threw herself up on her feet.

"Piper, you are still a little weak so take it easy." Leo tried to calm her. He had just healed a severe bleeding in her brain. "You might still suffer from dizzy spells… "

"Don't tell me to take it easy when my sons are attacked! I need to get to my sons NOW!" Leo was taken aback by her fury.

"They are fine Piper." Paige had finally found the invisible protection force field and dismantled it. She was now comforting little Chris as best she could.

Piper rushed to their side and gave them a thorough look to see if they suffered any harm.

"They are ok." Paige slowly sank down on the floor while she struggled to breath.

"Leo, you better take care of Paige. I think the demon broke some of her ribs." Leo nodded and went over to his sister-in-law.

"What the hell has happened here?" Suddenly Phoebe appeared in the doorframe. "It looks like a tornado tried to redecorate the whole living room."

"No, but a Sledgehammer." Paige stood up with the help of Leo. "Thanks Leo. Seriously, Sledgehammer must be the worst demon name I have ever heard."

"Where the hell have you've been? We could have used your help, you know." Piper still hadn't calmed down after the attack.

"I just came in for Goodness sake. I was… working late. How could I have known that you were attacked? Loosen up, you're not thinking straight when you get mad." Phoebe couldn't help looking a little guilty from the lie she just had told. She and Emilio had been working very, very late indeed.

"The demon came for my sons and you want me to loosen up? Leo! Do you know anything about this? Do you know why he wants Wyatt and Chris?" Piper was on the warpath. She looked like the human equivalent of a fury.

"Yes I do. It's actually one of the reasons why I came. Three young Ripper Demons want to adopt Wyatt and Chris." Leo looked at them for a reaction.

"They want to adopt my sons?"

"Ripper Demons are high level demons who adopt young witches and other magical people from the good side, only to raise them as their own evil breed. They have been doing this for centuries." Paige had obviously done some homework. "Sledgehammer must have been working for them."

"How do you know that, did he tell you?" Piper asked almost mockingly. Sometimes when she was very mad she couldn't help sniping at everyone around her.

"As of matter of fact he did. Ripper Demons are in The Book of Shadows, I've read about them. Leo, do you know which family of Ripper Demons it is?" Paige said patiently.

"This is a new and unknown family of Ripper Demons from the East Coast. They seem very ambitious and we The Elders suspect that they plan to take over the Underworld. With Wyatt and Chris they would become invincible."

As Leo said this Piper closed her eyes. She couldn't believe the total crapness of everything. "First we learn that Heaven want to take the boys and now there's a threat from The Underworld. Will this never end?" Her voice broke at the end of the sentence. Leo couldn't help himself, he hugged his wife and she let him.

Phoebe and Paige looked at each other and started to leave the room to give the married couple a little privacy.

"Hey, where are you going? We must talk about what we should do, make up plans until the next time… " Piper called them back.

"Piper, maybe that can wait? I have a radio show tonight that I must do. It's on live in abou… "Oops! That sentence just came out without Phoebe thinking. She couldn't finish what she was about to say before Piper exploded.

"A radio show? Demonic baby snatchers almost kidnap my sons and you are going to do a radio show? What did I tell about too much exposure in the public eye at a time like this?" Piper was livid.

"A time like what, Piper? It's ALWAYS like this. We can't stop our lives completely because of some demons. It would be like letting them win." What the hell, Phoebe thought, we just have to have this discussion at some point so it may just as well be now. And she thought she had a pretty good point.

"They win if they get my sons. Don't you go and tell me about giving up life and career, Phoebe. If you had to give up just a tenth of everything I had forsaken for… " Piper couldn't believe the bullshit Phoebe was telling her.

"Wait a minute… Piper what are you talking about? You have forsaken? You have a husband and two kids for Chrissakes! You have nothing to complain about! All I want is to have a life and kids of my own and… " Phoebe surprised herself, she didn't knew she wanted children. But it was true.

"Having kids it's not an easy thing Phoebe. What I mean is… " Piper was as surprised as Phoebe.

"What do you mean by that? I can't have children because I'm too 'Phoebe'? Yeah right, you always peg me as the constant screw up! Wild Phoebe! Freebie! That's all I've ever heard my entire life! Everyone does mistakes even you Miss Perfect!" Phoebe spit out the last sentence.

"At least I didn't marry The Source and then leave The Power of Three to become the Queen of the Underworld!" That was a cheap shot but Piper didn't care anymore.

"Oh for the love of God! You are never going to let me live that one down are you? Your constant blame is slowly killing me!"

"What? I have never… ! Since when did this conversation turn into 'poor misunderstood Phoebe' from 'poor Piper'? I think I'm entitled a little bit of sympathy and support from my ever absent family!"

"C'mon Piper, your idiot, absent husband I can't help you with, but Paige has been here for you this whole summer." Leo looked hurt at Phoebe, who gave him an apologetic shrug.

"Yeah the one that turned out to NOT be family."

Just after that last comment by Piper, everyone realized that Paige was still in the room. She was holding Chris in her arms. She looked like as if someone had struck her.

"Paige I didn't mean… "

"Here." Paige gave the sleeping infant to Piper. "Don't wake him." With that she orbed away.

"Good one Piper."

"Oh just shut up!"

The slam from the door when Phoebe walked out woke up both Chris and Wyatt. Piper looked at Leo, who had been quiet during the whole screaming match, and said; "Can you take Wyatt while I try to calm Chris down?"

Leo looked sadly at her while the blue orbs started to form around him. "I'm sorry, I can't. The Elders are calling." Then he orbed away leaving her with their two crying sons. She was alone to take care of everything.

Piper broke down completely that night and cried herself to sleep. How could she protect Wyatt and Chris without the support of her family?

* * *

Late that night Benny sat together with Mr. Ledin and listened to Phoebe on the radio show.

"She is really funny that Phoebe! She would go far if I wasn't about to destroy her." Mr. Ledin was laughing at almost everything Phoebe said when she gave advice to different listeners. Benny decided that now was the time to talk freely to his client.

"Mr. Ledin I must admit I was upset and disappointed when you called in other demons to work on the Halliwell Sisters but after the fight I witnessed this afternoon I have changed my mind. The fight didn't make them closer but it made them fall apart even more." Benny wanted to give credit when credit was due.

"Thank you Benny. Manipulate human beings is my specialty. I have had a lot of time to perfection this talent of mine."

"I also wanted to apologize for the slow progress… "

"Don't worry Benny, I trust you to find the object eventually. I just get a little impatient from time to time. And please don't worry about the other demons – these ones are smart and they only want the boys, which I have no need for. They won't interfere in your work at all. Though they might be closer to the sisters than you think." Mr. Ledin gave Benny a wink and smiled. "It is time for them to learn that they can't trust each other and it is time to learn they can't trust no one else either."

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 5. - A Stranger In The Mall"...


	5. A Stranger In The Mall

Chapter 5. – A Stranger In The Mall

Benny's Report, Day 63  
Benny sat under the Halliwell Mansion, in the sewer that he and his team called "Headquarter". He was reading one of his agent's reports with great interest.

After a month of the same kind of reports, Benny was starting to get bored. Things were moving slowly. Despite several serious attempts from various demons and warlocks, working for The Ripper Demons, no one had been successful in kidnapping the little boys. The sisters had efficiently beaten down every attack in spite of their differences.

Benny was disappointed at the slow progress and at the same time impressed. No wonder the girls was so feared in The Underworld. Even when the Halliwell Sisters were falling apart they had an uncanny ability to focus and work together under siege.

As soon as Benny finished the report he smiled. This was the kind of news he had been waiting for.

* * *

Piper lived a double life – to her new friends in the park she was this normal, working mom who ran a club. To her family she was a tough and demanding leader who tried to protect her sons as best she could.

In Piper's regime the mansion was becoming a fortress - full of traps and secret doors. She was even working on installing a magic panic room. Piper was also drilling her two younger sisters in defense tactics, spell workshops and potion making, with a military discipline that would make the drill sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket" proud. It was totally exhausting.

Paige returned home after Piper's dreadful comment during the fight with Phoebe. Paige was just gone a couple of hours until Leo convinced her to come home. Things had been strained between the sisters ever since that night. Paige was still the dutiful sister though – making new effective potions, figuring out protection spells and helping as much as she could. Piper tried apologizing once but Paige had waved it away saying everything was ok. Of course everything wasn't ok.

Phoebe on the other hand avoided everything and everyone. She blamed her work but Piper knew Phoebe just wanted to get a far away from her sisters and magic as much as she could. Piper saw more of Phoebe in the gossip columns than she did in real life.

Piper sighed, it had been an awful week – they had been attacked by different demons three days in a row. Thankfully she and Paige had been able to fight off their attackers. But every time the demons became more effective and more brutal. It was wearing them down. They really needed Phoebe's help. They needed The Power of Three.

That morning she, Paige and the boys had gone to the mall for Christmas shopping. Piper had to buy Christmas gifts for all her employees at the club. Paige went along to help taking care of Wyatt and Chris while Piper was looking for the ultimate gifts to buy. She finally settled for nice and expensive kitchen utilities and kitchen knives (you can never have enough good kitchen stuff according to Piper) together with some exotic food. She was discussing the discount with the store manager when she heard someone calling her sister's name over and over outside the store.

Piper quickly finished her business with the manager and hurried out. When she came out of the store she saw a drunken man following Paige and the boys around in the mall. He was screaming all kinds of obscenities at her little sister. Paige tried to get away from him as best she could. Just as the man was one step away from Paige two guards suddenly appeared and wrestled the drunken man down. He was still screaming as he lay on the floor.

"Paige! Paige! Come back here! Paige you fucking whore, you come back to me and speak to me!"

Paige was almost outside the mall with Chris and Wyatt, when Piper caught up with them.

"Paige?"

Paige didn't say anything she just continued to the car in a very fast pace. Piper had to run to keep up with her. Finally they stopped by their car.

"Paige? What was that all about?"

"He came out of nowhere and started screaming… " Paige was packing the groceries in the car with shaking hands.

"About what?"

"He… he made no sense at all. Let's just get out of here, ok?"

Paige didn't say anything more about the man during their way home but Piper could see that her sister was very upset by the incident. When they arrived at the house Piper tried to bring the incident up again.

"Look Piper, I don't know what happened in the mall today, or why. Really." Paige was already on her way up to her room.

"Well, he obviously knew you… "

Paige stopped in the middle of the stairs and turned towards her and said with an irritated voice; "I met a lot of people in my life… as a social worker and as a witch. Maybe it was someone that didn't agree with some decision that I made in the past… "

"If you know him you better tell us. Because… you seem pretty shook up. What if he is dangerous and… "

"He is NO ONE! OK!" Piper looked shocked after her sister who stormed off. Paige had never screamed at her like that before.

Piper unpacked the groceries while she grumbled to herself - as if she didn't have enough to worry about!

Then the phone rang. It was Esmeralda. She sounded very upset, like she had been crying.

* * *

As soon as Paige was alone, away from Piper's prying eyes, she went straight to the toilet and threw up.

Afterwards she sat on the bathroom floor with her arms around her knees, shaking like a leaf. Paige felt bad for lying to Piper. She knew very well who that man was. For several years she had been able to push the memories of him away, into the darkest corner of her mind. Now he was back and the thought of him chilled Paige to the bone. Piper had been right about one thing - he was dangerous.

After the first wave of panic had receded she pushed herself off the bathroom floor and rushed to the phone in her room. She phoned the only one who could help her.

"Darryl Morris."

"Hi, Darryl it's Paige. I was wondering if you could… "

"Help you?" Darryl voice had an unfriendly and sarcastic tone; "You want me to risk my career and life to help you girls with another magic adventure? No thanks. I don't think so!"

"Darryl, I'm only asking you… "

"Maybe you want my soul again or some other crazy ass magic… only this time you wanted to be nice and ask first? Well I got news for you: That shit is over!"

"Please Darryl, it's nothing magical this time!"

"Find another doormat. Goodbye!"

Paige heard the other line disconnect. She didn't know anyone else to turn to. Go to her "sisters" with her problem was never an option – Phoebe was never around and Piper couldn't handle it right now, she had enough on her shoulders. Besides they all had drifted apart so much it felt wrong to confide something so personal as this to Phoebe or Piper. Paige had in fact never talked with anyone about this part of her past. It just hurt too damn much.

* * *

Benny looked up from Annifrid's report when Annifrid herself showed up in their Headquarter.

"Very good report Annifrid! Very solid."

"Thank you. I have something here that I think you want to see. Something that will shed some light on the incident at the mall." Annifrid gave Benny a couple of papers. "I just got these from The Social Services."

"Let me see." Benny read the papers Annifrid had given him. "So… our stranger in the mall isn't really a stranger after all. This gets better and better." Benny smiled at his young agent who smiled back.

Benny looked at the information about Paige. These were the papers that Mr. Ledin had told Benny was of great interest. Paige Matthews had indeed a very colorful past. This could prove to be very helpful when tearing the sisters further apart. The only thing that worried Benny was that he failed to see the connection to his client. Maybe would Mr. Ledin be able to tell him the next time they met.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 6. - New Magic Friends "...


	6. New Magic Friends

Chapter 6. – New Magic Friends

Benny's Report, Day 77  
Benny sat late at night in the sewers under the manor on Prescott Street with a cup of hot tea. He was reading reports from his agents. The latest developments in the Halliwell household were very interesting and Benny wanted desperately to discuss them with his client. Unfortunately Mr. Ledin was on business abroad and couldn't be reached until after Christmas.

Benny stopped reading, rubbed his one eye and yawned – he was getting too old for this kind of gig. The dangerous stakeouts and the constant stress… it was such a lonely, ungrateful job, far away from home. Maybe it was time for him to retire. His wife most certainly thought so.

But then his eye caught the reports lying on the desk and Benny knew why he never would be able to quit - his undying, almost overwhelming fascination of the human nature. Humans were such illogical, fantastic creatures – capable of marvelous bravery, extreme cowardice, unbelievable cruelty and tender, heartbreaking love. Benny couldn't help marvel at their complexity and their foolish fighting spirit. The Halliwell sisters were in many ways a perfect example of this and Benny kind of loved them for it.

* * *

Piper looked tiredly through the window. It was past midnight and a thick fog enveloped the city outside. In her hand she held The Last Urn of Moth. It was a small vase made of some kind obsidian material with tribal inscriptions on the sides that made it look old and powerful. Piper could feel the urn's ancient magic seeping through her fingers.

She smiled; The Last Urn of Moth was finally hers – it had taken Piper two weeks to track it down. She had to go to some very strange forums on the Internet to find it. Eventually she came in contact with a Dark Witch from Ukraine who was willing to sell her the urn. The price was disgustingly high but Piper felt it was worth it. The small urn was the final ingredient in the first installment of The Mouyawan Protection Spell – the most effective protection spell Piper had ever encountered. If she were able to perform the four installments of the spell correctly, it would solve all her problems with The Ripper Demons. And it was all thanks to her new friend Esmeralda.

It all started two weeks ago when Piper got a phone call from Esmeralda. Her friend had asked her to come over with a desperate urgency in her voice…

* * *

… Piper left her two sons in Paige's care and hurried over to Esmeralda's place across town. She had suspected that Esmeralda was in some kind of trouble for a long time and she really wanted to help the young mother whatever her problem was.

When Piper had arrived at Esmeralda's place, the door stood open and she could hear strange sounds coming from the apartment. As she entered the living room, Piper couldn't believe her eyes; the whole place was a war zone - everything was destroyed. In the middle of the room were Esmeralda's two children, Justin and Emilia, oblivious of what went on around them. They sat in a glowing pentagram written on the floor that powered some kind of force field. Two demons walked cautiously around the force field, poking it with pieces of furniture.

Esmeralda was struggling with a third demon in the corner of the room.

"Piper, look out!"

Esmeralda's warning made Piper swirl around, just to see the two demons coming at her with fireballs forming in their hands. Before she could even think, she had raised her hands and exploded the demons. Esmeralda and the demon she was wrestling stopped fighting and looked at Piper with bewilderment. Both of them were more than surprised at the turn of events. Everyone (not the kids) in the room stood absolutely still for a second and a half, until Esmeralda pushed the third demon away from her with great force. The demon fell onto the force field and dissolved into flames.

"What? How?" Piper couldn't believe her eyes– she had never seen a force field that could destroy demons.

Esmeralda looked as shocked as Piper.  
"How did you… what did you… ? Piper you just EXPLODED that… that guy!"

"Guy? That 'guy' was a demon Esmeralda! What is going on?"

"What going on? I… you… you… ". Esmeralda was hyperventilating; she had a huge gash over her left eyebrow and looked alarmingly pale. Piper needed to calm Esmeralda down before her friend went into shock.

"You're hurt. Let me help you." Piper helped Esmeralda from the floor.

"It's just a gash, I'm fine… ooops!" Piper caught Esmeralda under the arms just before the young woman's legs buckled.

"You're far from fine. Let me take care of your head wound and see to your kids while you rest for a while. After that we can talk about what happened."

Esmeralda thought about Piper's offer for a second:  
"Ok. I just have to dismantle the force field first."

With Piper's help Esmeralda stood in front of the force field. The young woman said something that was cloaked to Piper's ears and the force field disappeared. The pentagram glowed for ten more seconds before it faded into the floor.

Piper fed and put the little ones to bed before she dressed the young woman's wound. She gave her a cup of tea with soothing herbs that she found in the remains of the kitchen. Finally they settled down in what was left of Esmeralda's sofa

"So Esmeralda, would you mind telling me why you were attacked by demons and where you learned to make force fields that can vanquish demons?"

Esmeralda sipped on the hot tea. She looked exhausted and sad.  
"First of all Piper, it wasn't my intention to put you in any kind of danger. The demons came after I had made my phone call to you. I just called you to have someone to talk to, that's all… and then they showed up. I never wanted you to get involved in my problems."

"Well, here I am and since I'm got a little bit 'involved' in your problem already - you might as 'involve' me furtherWho knows, maybe I can help you in some way?"

"Well, if you tell me how you were able to explode that demon with your mere hands. What are you Piper?"

Piper took a deep breath - she decided she could trust Esmeralda. "I am a witch. I am also a Charmed One."

"You're a Charmed One! Wow! I always knew that there was something special about you but never in my wildest imagination…"

"What are you Esmeralda?"

"I am a Bruha. That means witch in my country."

"So we're both witches… "

"For some reason I always felt we had something in common… I couldn't put my finger on it." Esmeralda gave Piper a smile.

"Funny you should say that because I felt the same way too." Piper smiled back.

They looked at each other and then they started to giggle at the absurdity of the whole situation. Piper felt a weight lift from her shoulders; apart from her family, she never had someone to share her secrets with. It felt good.

"Sooo, who were those ugly guys and what do they want with you?"

A shadow fell over Esmeralda's beautiful face.  
"They work for my husband, Justin and Emilia's father. He… he is a Maltese Demon. "

"You're married to a demon?"

Esmeralda looked away, ashamed.  
"I was young and madly in love. He was handsome, powerful and very… seductive. Before I knew it I was his young witch bride at this huge, fantastic wedding. We were so in love and I thought I was in heaven. Everything changed completely after I had Justin, our son – he became cruel and demonic… He wanted to raise Justin to be next Leader of The Underworld. When he said that he was going to marry our daughter, Emilia, to a Dark Lord I decided to run away with my children, to protect them. I've been on the run ever since."

Piper was moved to tears by Esmeralda's horrible story. She took her new friend's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"He must have found out where I was somehow. Now we have to move again and I don't have anywhere to go." Esmeralda started to cry. Piper hugged her tightly.

"We figure something out. You're not in this alone anymore, ok?"

"Will… will you help me?"

"Lets say that I can relate to your story a little bit. I know how it feels when someone is trying to harm your kids."

"But you're a Charmed One. Aren't you protected by whitelighters and The Elders?"

Piper gave her a dark look.  
"The Elders are the threat."

"Oh!"

"Well… plus every moron in The Underworld who wants to use my kids for their own purposes. Right now there is this Ripper Demon family who tries to kidnap Wyatt and Chris so that they can adopt them."

"That's awful! How do you cope?"

"I try to be the strongest, meanest witch on Earth, so maybe one day all demons decide that it isn't worth attacking my family; because they know they will get their asses kicked."

"I wish I could be more like you Piper."

"No you don't. I'm not as though as I sound; I'm scared out of my wits every day. I have actually no idea how I made it this far without having a total nervous breakdown."

They sat in silence for a while, digesting each other's story. Piper felt fatigue setting in after her adrenaline rush during the demon attack.

"What kind of force field is that you are using Esmeralda? I have never seen anything like it."

Esmeralda gave her a proud smile.

"It's an old Mayan protection spell from my country. I have improved it a little bit so it fits the standards of today. It's called The Mouyawan Protection Spell."

"It's seems extremely efficient."

"It is! No demon has been able to penetrate it so far."

"Do you think you could teach me to do that spell?"

"Yes of course. But I must warn you; the ingredients are very specific and the preparations quite time consuming."

"That's no problem. You know what… I make you a deal: if you help me with your protection spell, I will fix you a new safe house - now that this place is wrecked by your husband's minions."

Esmeralda's eyes light up.  
"You can?"

"One of my club managers has a little cabin northwest of the city. If you are interested I think I might be able to persuade him to rent it to you."

"That's sounds wonderful! Oh, Piper, thank you so much!" Esmeralda's eyes welled up again and she gave Piper a bone-crushing hug.

"Ugh! No problem. That's what friends are for, right?"

* * *

… That was two weeks ago. Esmeralda and her kids moved to the cabin outside town and they seemed to settle down just fine. Piper went to see them together with Wyatt and Chris, every second day. She and Esmeralda had a great time exchanging potions and spells while their kids played in the sun. Esmeralda kept her part of the deal and helped Piper make The Mouyawan Protection Spell.

Piper was so grateful to have a friend, who in her own way shared her fear and troubles.

She turned to the bubbling potion in the cauldron. It pulsated with a bluish light. Piper went through Esmeralda's notes once more before she took the cauldron from the fire and poured the content into the small urn. The first installment of the spell was complete.

The second installment of The Mouyawan Protection Spell was a little bit creepier – she had to bury the urn together with a dead murderer's hand on a cemetery during full moon. She was a little nervous about that - this was Piper's first dabbling with Dark Arts after all.

* * *

Phoebe sat by the huge window in Emilio's bedroom – it was in the middle of the night and a thick fog blurred city lights outside. Phoebe paid no attention to the beautiful view; instead her eyes darted between her sleeping lover in the bed and the potion she held in her hand. She replayed the conversation she had with Emilio earlier that night…

* * *

… Phoebe and Emilio had been "writing a book" passionately for a whole month.

She tried to be at home as little as possible after her big fight with Piper. Phoebe had more or less been living at Emilio's flat ever since. She went to premieres and parties with her new boy toy, living the glamorous life. It was good for her career; she got publicity and new interesting offers were dropping in by the minute. Sooner or later she and Emilio really had to start writing that damn book for real.

All the time Phoebe had this awful feeling of guilt somewhere in the back of her mind. She didn't want to think about it but she felt terrible for fighting with Piper. She knew both of her sisters needed her right now but Phoebe just couldn't bring herself to go home and fight demons, the devil and his grandma anymore. The magic life felt so dark and depressing with all the sacrifices they constantly had to endure. It had slowly been eating away the light within her and the secrecy made Phoebe feel disconnected from the rest of the world

"Now you are doing it again." Emilio's masculine voice awoke Phoebe from her thoughts.

"What?" She looked at him; he was lying naked beside her in the bed. God, he was beautiful! He looked like a cross between Gael García Bernal and a young Alain Delon. Emilio gave her a warm smile and drew her to him with his strong arms.

"You look like you have the world on your shoulders. I have been noticing that look on you a lot lately. Something you want to talk about?"

"Nah. I'm just thinking about my sisters… we had this fight some time ago you know, and things haven't been especially good at home ever since."

"I know, you told me about the fight. But from what I gather, thing haven't been peachy in your family for a long time."

"Well, yeah… " Phoebe suddenly felt like crying. She didn't want bawl in front of her lover because that would make her look messy. "I just feel so bad about everything! I didn't mean to say all those things to Piper, even though everything I said was right. I HATE hurting her and I HATE when she is hurting me! And then she hurt Paige even more and that was so awful!" Phoebe started to sob, wetting Emilio's bare, manly chest with her tears.

"Oh honey! Come here!" He held her in his arms and stroked her hair while she wept. When Phoebe finally stopped was her nose running and her face a red, bloated mess. She didn't feel especially sexy but Emilio was looking at her lovingly. "Feel better? "

"A little… I'm just so tired of it all you know. It never stops!" Phoebe hiccupped.

Emilio looked at her bewildered. "What honey?"

"Everything! Life! All the responsibility… all the pain!"

"I can't say that I know what you are talking about right now Phoebe darling, but it sounds like you need a break from it all. Like a BIG break!"

She sniffled. "You could say that…"

"Have you never thought about escaping it all? And never look back?"

"You know what Emilio… it's all I ever think about."

"I know how it feels. I have two very dominant sisters too."

"You have?"

"Yep. They used to push me around all the time. Until one day I put my foot down and told them it was time for them to start living their own life and stop living through mine."

"You did?"

"I had to. But they wouldn't accept it so I had to take some very drastic measures to make them understand that I was serious."

"What did you do?"

Emilio looked uncomfortable. "This will sound a little crazy… "

"No it won't! Trust me, I will never think anything you're saying is crazy. I'm very open-minded. Tell me!"

"Ok, here it goes: I was a witch, Phoebe. I belonged to this long line of witches. As the youngest male member of our family, I had to follow my sister's orders; that was the tradition in my family. Every little whim or crazy decision they might have, I had to obey." Emilio looked at her. "Now you are looking at me like I'm crazy."

Phoebe just stared at him.

"Phoebe, please say something!"

"S-so… so you're saying you're a… a witch?"

"I was a witch. And don't look at me like that! I knew you wouldn't believe me!" He looked hurt and got up out of bed.

"Emilio, don't get mad…!" Phoebe tried to get hold of him but he backed away from her while he angrily was putting on his clothes.

"This was a mistake… I shouldn't have told you!"

"Emilio, stop it! I do believe you! Now, come back here so that we can talk."

He stopped in his tracks. "You believe me?"

"Yes! And for your information, I'm a witch too. A Charmed One actually, who happens to be stripped of her powers by The Council for the moment." This time it was Emilio who disbelievingly stared at Phoebe.

"You're a Charmed One? You?"

"Yep. It's a loooong story." Phoebe felt uncomfortable under his stare. "Now, it's you who look like you think I'm crazy."

Emilio was by her side in a second. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention! Oh honey, the pressure you must have been living under!" He took her in his arms and Phoebe felt herself relax in his embrace. They settled on the bed.

"So tell me what kind of drastic measures did you have to take to get your sisters off your back?"

"I made a power stripping potion."

"You stripped your own powers!" Phoebe couldn't believe his words.

"It was the best thing I ever done! You could say that my life started after drinking that potion."

"What did your sisters say?"

"They were very disappointed in me at first. But after a while they let me know that they also were tired of the magic lifestyle. As soon as we all gave up magic the demons stopped attacking us. Now we are just a regular family who see each other at Christmas and other family gatherings."

"That… that sounds wonderful!"

"I know… the best thing that ever happened to my family. I have some left of the potion if you want to use it."

"I… I don't know if I… "

Before Phoebe could give him an understandable answer, Emilio opened a drawer beside the bed and handed her a small bottle. "Do whatever you want with it. Just remember that you are the master of you own destiny Phoebe."

* * *

… The little bottle with the power-stripping potion weighed heavy in Phoebe's hand. The potion was in many ways the answer to all her prayers but at the same time she wished that she never had gotten it in the first place.

She felt so extremely conflicted; One part of her wanted to down the potion on the spot, another part of her wanted to throw the potion as far away from her as possible.

To be able to have this choice, this option, was supposed make her life easier. It didn't make it easier at all.

* * *

Paige was unable to sleep. She was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, while her thoughts were racing around in her head. Thanks to a brutally honest talk with Jenny during lunch Paige couldn't make heads or tails of her life anymore. It was a feeling that bordered on panic.

Still, anything was better than falling asleep…

* * *

… Paige looked tiredly at the copy machine while it was moving back and forth, copying some notes for the next meeting. Everything was just a blur; she hadn't slept well since the incident at the mall. Paige dreamt of him every night. The nightmares woke her up all sweaty and crying, sometimes as much as four or five times in one night. They were slowly draining Paige of all her energy.

"… Paige, did you hear any word I just said?" Paige looked up and found Jenny standing above her with a concerned look.

"What?"

"I'm sorry to butt in like this but are you ok?"

Paige gave Jenny a tired smile.  
"What do you mean? I'm fine." That last sentence came out a little too quick so it more or less underlined the fact that Paige wasn't fine.

"I know it's not any of my business but these last two weeks you have seemed to be a little bit off."

"If you not happy with the way I work…"

"No, no that's not what I meant at all! What I'm trying to say is that you seem a little bit under the weather. As a matter of fact I would say you have been 'under under the weather'."

"Sorry Jenny, I have been having trouble sleeping, that's all." Paige rubbed her red, sore eyes.

"You don't have to say you're sorry! I just want you to know that if you need help or a shoulder to cry on - I'm here, ok?"

"Thanks." Paige gave her a brave smile and tried to suppress the tears that were threatening to fall. Jenny was such a great friend.

"So, you know… if you need anything; just ask." Jenny gave her an encouraging smile and a comforting hand on her shoulder. Paige gave in – she really needed someone to talk to

"Do you know how to fix a restraining order?"

"Has someone threatened you?" Jenny looked worriedly at her.

"Someone… this person… I thought he was in prison but he must have gotten out somehow… and now I don't know what to do!"

"That's awful! So has he contacted or threatened you in some way?"

"No… yes… he saw me at the mall and started to scream at me. He was drunk so it didn't really make any sense. But I know it's just a matter of time until he finds me again."

"Who is he? What does he want with you?"

Paige started to shake, she had never told anyone about her past. She took a deep breath but couldn't bring herself to tell Jenny her story. "I don't know if I'm strong enough to talk about it yet." She gave Jenny a weak smile.

"You take your time Paige. But I think it's important that you eventually talk to someone about it. Have you told your sisters?"

"No."

"No?"

"I can't… it's complicated."

"Why?"

"It's so hard to talk about it and… I don't want to bother them with all my stuff. We have enough problems as it is."

"But they are your sisters! I'm sure that they want you to confide in them."

"Remember when I told you that things haven't been so good at home lately. That I might not be their real sister after all… " The tears that had been the verge of falling down her face since the beginning of the conversation were now coming down with the force of The Niagara Falls. Paige began to cry.

"Ooh honey! I didn't know it was that bad." Jenny sat down beside Paige and hugged her. "There, there. Just let it all come out."

"I thought I finally had found my place in the world and instead it turned out to be nothing but a cruel joke." Paige sobbed even harder and Jenny continued to hug her until Paige had calmed down a little bit.

"But how is that possible? What does your sisters say about it?"

Paige blew her nose and tried to dress the weird atmosphere at home in suitable words.  
"The problem is that they don't really say anything. We don't talk about it at all. Everyone just tries to get as far away from me as possible. Well, when they don't need me that is." Paige couldn't help sound a little bit bitter when she said the last sentence.

"When they need The Power of Three, you mean."

There was a half minute long silence after Jenny's last statement. Paige just stared at her boss.

"HOW did you know that?"

Jenny gave Paige a mischievous look.  
"I'm not entirely stupid you know. Plus the fact that you and your sisters are quite famous in the magic world."

"But… but… "

"Besides, I'm a little magic myself; I'm half witch, half Avatar."

"So, you're… "

"… A half-breed just like you."

"Wow, Avatar! You must be really powerful."

"Not really. Avatars generally earn their powers so I was born without any magical powers at all, to my parent's great disappointment. They were actually so disappointed that they gave me away."

"That's terrible!"

"Nah! If they did that they must really suck as parents, right?"

Paige didn't know what to answer so she let Jenny continue her story.

"Anyway… my foster family, who were all witches, hoped my powers would manifest later on as I grew up. While they were waiting they were training me hard in magical stuff. Very hard."

"That's sounds though."

"It was! I grew up thinking my whole worth as a human being depended on how powerful witch I was. Nothing else mattered to them."

"You sound bitter. I'm sure they loved you no matter what."

"Not really. They never once gave me an encouraging word or told me that they loved me. I was just an investment for them, someone who would secure their magical status."

"They are still your family. Sometimes people have a hard time expressing their feelings… "

"Who are you making excuses for Paige? My family or your own?"

Paige felt as if she had been slapped

Jenny who didn't seem to notice how bad her story affected her friend, continued:  
"One day I realized the futile in trying to prove myself to them. So I told them to go fuck themselves and left."

"It must have very been hard." Paige couldn't see herself telling Piper and Phoebe to fuck off.

"No, strangely enough it was much, much easier than I thought it would be."

"But they were your family!"

"Please Paige! Family doesn't have to be the one you were born into, or grew up with by default. That is such a narrow and unfortunate definition of the word. Family is something you have to create for yourself, something you have to constantly work on. If your sisters aren't capable of working on their relationship with you – why do they deserve to be your family? Why do you stay with them if you feel that they are only using you?"

That was another slap in the face. Paige felt obligated to defend her relationship with her sisters.  
"Because I love them! And sometimes, on rare occasions I feel that the feeling is almost mutual – that maybe one day they care about me as much as I care about them."

"Don't you think that you deserve more than that?"

"Yes… no… I don't know!" Paige crumbled. She was far too tired and far too heartbroken to have this kind of honest conversation with anybody.

"All I'm saying Paige is; if you don't trust them with your problems what kind of sisters are they? Why do you feel that you have to stay with them?" Jenny's brutal questions were one by one drilling inescapable holes in Paige's fragile existence with the Halliwell sisters.

"The truth is that I don't know if I can leave them. When I learned that I was half-sister to the Halliwells and a witch, I gave up everything to fit into their world. If I'm not a Charmed One anymore… what am I?" Paige looked desperately at Jenny who gave her a sad smile.

"Oh Paige! Only you can answer that question and you better figure it out soon because I can see that it's eating you up."

* * *

… Paige woke up with a muffled scream. She had fallen asleep while thinking about her conversation with Jenny. Back in reality Paige tried to gain control of herself; she was out of breath and her face was wet; she had been crying in her sleep. Again.

Slowly, like a film played in her head she began to remember her nightmare. This one had been different from the dream that had been haunting her every night for the last two weeks – of him chasing her around in the mall, screaming at her, calling her names and finally catching up to kill her.

In this dream it wasn't him following her at the mall, it was Piper. It was her sister who called her a whore and in the end tried to kill her. The feeling of pure horror and total betrayal was still lingering in her mind. This dream was much, much worse.

* * *

Benny looked up from the reports he as saw his junior agent Björn coming in.

Björn was a reliable, intelligent, young agent with an easy-going charm. Benny liked him. They had worked together a couple of times before and Benny felt a fatherly affection for the younger agent.

"I just read the reports. You all have done a very good work, even Agneta "

"Thank you sir." Björn beamed with pride. Benny's praise was rare and always just.

He filled a mug with hot tea and sat down by the table. Björn obviously had something on his heart: "She is playing with fire you know. A dead man's hand in a grave yard during full moon… that's can be very dangerous."

Benny was suddenly very concerned:  
"Are you worried about her Björn?"

Björn looked repulsed at the idea.  
"No!"

"Because if you are developing any kind of feelings or sympathy for your target I have to relieve you from duty. You know the procedure."

"No, no! I am not! Believe me, I'm not!"

"Björn, it would be highly understandable… You wouldn't be the first one to do so on a mission."

"Please sir! I promise you that I'm 100 professional!"

Benny looked Björn in the eye. The young agent looked like Benny was about to give him a death sentence.  
"Very well, then we don't need to worry, do we?"

"Absolutely not sir!" Björn looked very relieved.

But Benny was worried. And he wondered to himself if he just made a very big mistake.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 7. - A Funeral For Paige"...


	7. A Funeral For Paige

_Author's Note – I got three more reviews! Thank you so much scrawn, moonfirefairy, and Laurie Lu. Your encouragement means a lot me. _

_This is the longest and most violent chapter I have written. So beware._

Chapter 7. – A Funeral For Paige

Benny's Report, Day 98  
Benny looked unhappily around in the small room they called "Headquarter". His junior agent Agneta had decorated it with idiotic Christmas decorations of all kinds. She had quite frankly gone overboard with the whole thing.He didn't know what to do with her; Agneta wasn't cut out to be an agent at all. She just didn't take the job seriously enough - most of her time she was either flirting with his junior agent, Björn, or decorating the sewers.

Benny didn't like working with Kalla Bong women; he was just too old fashioned for that. Ever since The Frozen Yogurt Crisis the Kalla Bong society had changed radically (some even call The Frozen Yogurt Crisis a revolution, but I wouldn't go that far) and old souls like Benny had a hard time adapting to the new order of things.

Benny took the little mug of eggnog and sipped it with a grimace. Well, he could always comfort himself with the fact that the Halliwell sisters had as miserable Christmas as himself.

* * *

Piper sighed while she was putting the last leftovers from Christmas in the garbage bin. This Christmas must have been the shittiest one since Grams had died.

Piper couldn't decide which was worst:

- The fact that Leo never showed up  
- Her dad giving them a call from Hawaii where he stayed with his secretary (who was barely of legal age), apologizing for forgetting to inform them that he wasn't showing up this year  
- When they had to go to the hospital because Chris ate up his new crayons (they weren't toxic thank God!)  
- Phoebe showing up for a fraction of a second together with her greasy boyfriend  
- Phoebe and boyfriend being drunk and making out in front everybody during the Christmas dinner  
- When Wyatt threw up under the Christmas tree  
- Having to book an awful Eurotrash DJ for New Years Eve at P3, instead of Scissor Sisters who couldn't come  
- Paige going around looking miserable  
- The terrible news that a huge wave had killed maybe hundred of thousands of people in Asia on Boxing Day

Thankfully they had a couple of days without demon attacks. Piper didn't know if it was a good sign or a bad sign. As she contemplated the whole Christmas fiasco there was suddenly an electrical charge in the air behind her. She turned around with raised hands, ready to explode any kind of intruder.

"Whoa!" The last glowing orbs around Leo slowly faded away. He held his arms as to shield himself from Piper's explosive powers.

Piper stopped herself in the nick of time and looked angrily at her husband. "Leo! What did I tell you about orbing in behind me!"

"Sorry, I forgot." He gave her an embarrassed smile.

"What do you want?" Piper was all business. She was not happy with him for being absent during the holidays.

"Is it a bad time? I just wanted to see my sons… and you." He looked at her and she almost melted. Almost.

"Now? It's half past ten Leo! They are asleep. Both Wyatt and Chris would be delighted if you visited them when they are awake. Wyatt have been asking for you, you know."

"He has?" Leo's face brightened up in a warm and proud smile. Piper could see his eyes getting shiny and it broke her heart.

"I want my kids to have a father, Leo. Would it be too much to ask for you to spend more time with them?"

"There is nothing I want more in the world than to be with them. But you know that I have to get to the bottom of this conspiracy against our family, to keep you safe. So… how are you doing? Is The Ripper Demon Family still bothering you?" Piper noticed that Leo looked very tired, as if he hadn't slept in days.

"No demon in the last five days, which is a new record."

"That's good! I hope you forgive me for showing up so short like this Piper. I just wanted to see you before I… I continue… " He sounded like he was going into war, like he was going to embark on something very dangerous. He looked her in the eyes and tried to explain: "I must do this. It isn't fair to us, our family, to Paige… we shouldn't live in this kind of uncertainty."

"Sure." Piper swallowed her own bitterness and gave him a little smile as she watched him go in a rain of glittering orbs.

"Was that Leo?" Paige walked into the room. Piper turned to her as she quickly dried away her tears.

"Yes."

"Did he say anything about… how things are going? About… you know… " Paige didn't know how to put it because she and her sisters never talked about the possibility of her not being their sister.

"No." Piper shrugged and looked at her half sister rather coldly. Paige was as much of a victim as all of them but Piper couldn't help but to blame her a little bit. Because of her 'sister', her kids would miss out on their father in their most formative years.

"Ok." Paige sounded a little bit disappointed but not really surprised.

"I have to check out the new 'DJ' for New Years Eve at P3. Keep the kids safe while I'm gone, ok? If there's any hint of trouble, just call me." Piper was out of the door before Paige could answer.Ok, that was an utter lie; Piper wasn't going to her club at all. She was going to the post office to pick up a package.

* * *

Paige walked aimlessly around in the house after Piper's departure. She tried to research a potion but gave up after an hour. The nightmares were still haunting her every night and the lack of sleep made her unfocused and clumsy.

The Christmas had been pure hell. Leo's absence wasn't good for Piper; she became almost insufferable to live with. Usually Paige found her oldest sister's quirky grumpiness endearing – it was a big part of Piper's charm, but lately Piper's moodiness was getting on Paige's nerves. The only time Paige saw her sister smile was when she was about to visit her friend Esmeralda.

Because of all the demon attacks Piper was more paranoid and demanding than ever. Paige tried to help as much as she could but she was starting to feel trapped. It was almost impossible to get out of the house without Piper exploding and laying on such a guilt trip that Paige always ended up staying at home to guard the boys with her sister.Phoebe on the other hand had showed up only for dinner on Christmas Day, with her new boy toy. She got drunk and started macking on him in front of everyone (including her two nephews, who we must hope were two small to be traumatized by this terrible display). Christmas just couldn't get worse.

When the phone rang, Paige realized that Christmas actually could get much, much worse. It was her uncle Dave on the other end of the phone. He had called to tell her that his wife Julie, her favorite aunt, had died from a stroke during an operation. Paige couldn't really remember much else from her conversation with her uncle. When they hung up she sat down, feeling numb and unreal. Dave and Julie had in many ways been her substitute family after her parent's death. Aunt Julie had been ill for over a decade, but because of her sunny and brave personality her death still came as a big shock. Paige zoned out for a couple of minutes, trying to understand that her beloved aunt wasn't out there with the rest of the living on this planet anymore… Maybe that's why the demons were able to get so close to Paige without her noticing. Suddenly she felt herself being lifted from the ground by two pair of big hairy hands. Three demons were staring at her with malice in their eyes.

"Tell us where the kids are bitch! Tell us or we will tear you apart!"

Paige's blood froze. She orbed out of the demon's hands to the nursery. A demon was already there, trying to pick up the boys without waking them. Paige smashed a vase into his head and the demon went out like a light. She quickly picked up Chris and Wyatt and tried to orb out of the house, to safety, only to be met by an invisible wall. Paige made another attempt, and another one but the wall was impenetrable. She called for Leo, Piper and Phoebe all the while she was orbing around the house to find some kind of door or a hole in the invisible wall. She even called for Grams but to no avail. No one came and she was unable to escape with the boys. Whatever the demons had done it was effective.

Out of breath by orbing around the house like a crazy tennis ball, Paige finally orbed to the attic. There she conjured a portable room that she had been working on and put the boys in there before she locked the door to the room and swallowed the key. Swallowing the key made the door invisible - that was something of an emergency solution but Paige was still working out the kinks of how to hide the portable room. She also had intended to decorate it a little bit more before the boys moved in. Well, at least she had made the key taste like licorice to be able to swallow it easier.

She heard the demons arguing downstairs and decided to orb down there to spy on them and if necessary, draw their attention away from the attic. When she started to orb the strangest thing happened – she was sucked out of her orb and appeared in front of two of the demons in the living room. It was a painful and dizzying experience. Paige felt as if she had been turned inside out, she was gasping for air and her skin was itching and burning. What had just happened?

"NOW, it works! I told you guys that I could make it work!" It was the second largest of the demons that spoke. In his hand he held something that looked like an amethyst. The stone had a dark lilac color, almost black, and it shone with a cold light from deep inside.

"Too late you idiot! She probably already hid the boys from us by now. Argamel if you just had gotten that crystal working sooner we could be on our way home now, with the brats." The other, much smaller demon looked angrily at the demon called Argamel. The smaller demon was not as muscular as the other demons - he was thin with long arms, instead of fingers he had razor sharp claws.

"Ok ok, you're always complaining. I still got the crystal to put a Wertobian Force Field around the house, didn't I?"

The biggest of the demons came into the room carrying the demon Paige had knocked out, over the shoulder. "I couldn't find the kids upstairs. Bax was out cold in the nursery." He dumped the unconscious demon on the floor beside Paige and turned to her with fury written in his face. "What did you do to him bitch? What did you do to my brother!"

He picked up Paige from the floor and hit her hard with the back of his hand. The blow split her upper lip wide open and sent her into the opposite wall. Paige panicked and tried to orb away from the brutal demons but once again she felt herself get sucked back by the mysterious crystal. She emerged by the feet of her attackers, out of breath and her skin like it was on fire. Paige felt the blood flowing down from her split lip and nose. Damn! She just bought that blouse and now it would be ruined thanks to these guys. Paige almost started to laugh, she was about to die and all she could think of was a stupid blouse.

"What are you smiling for cunt? I'll give you something to smile about!" The bigger demon lifted her up again and looked her in the eyes. "I will tear your limbs from your body, little girl!"

When Paige didn't answer him, he punched her so hard she flew out of the room, into the hall. The other demons cheered him on. Paige stood up with wobbly legs and made a big show of looking as hurt and defeated as possible. Suddenly, with speed that amazed even her, she dived into the demons - tackling them like a star quarterback. They all fell to the floor in a heap. Paige grabbed the dark crystal from Argamel and ran up the stairs. When she reached the second floor Paige thought for a second that she actually would be able to make it.

"Give me The Wertobian Stone you fucking cow!" Argamel shimmered in right in front of her and threw himself after crystal in Paige's hand. They started to wrestle at the top of the stairs. It didn't take long before both of them were tumbling down the steps. There is no good way to fall down the stairs; it is practically impossible to break the fall and every step is painful. Paige felt the crystal break into three different pieces when they finally landed on the first floor.

"Fuck! She broke the stone!" Argamel sounded like it was he, not the stone that had broken. "You just destroyed the last Wertobian Stone you bitch!" He got up and started to hit and kick Paige with a hysterical frenzy. Paige tried to shield herself from the brutal rain of blows as best as she could. She felt something break in her left arm.

"Stop! STOP! Fuck the stone! You're forgetting what we came for. If you're killing her now we will never know where the damn kids are!" It was the thin demon that had spoken. He seemed to be the smartest of the quartet and also in charge. He bent down to Paige who were still lying on the floor and caressed her cheek with his claws. "Be a nice little girl and tell us how we can get the boys. Tell us and we will let you live." He gave her a reassuring smile. The claws were barely touching her face but they still left small cuts.

When Paige didn't answer he looked almost happy. "Well, ok then. Too bad for you because my brother Bax has woken up and let me tell you; he pretty mad at you for hitting him in the head." Paige saw the demon she clocked before, walking up to her with a fireball in his hand. The thin one held her in an iron grip so she turned around and kneeled him in the groin before she tried to escape out of the hall. The fireball hit her hard in the back, making her fly through the room. The smell of burned flesh from her back reached her nostrils as she struggled to get up from the floor. Every inch of her body hurt.

The four demons gathered around in a ring around the beaten Paige. The largest one picked her up and held her by the throat. "Tell us where the boys are! NOW!"

Paige gurgled something. The big demon took that as a negative answer and hurled her through the glass doors like a rag doll. The glass shattered and rained down on her as she landed in a bloody heap on the floor in the sun room. Paige coughed and tried to sit up while the glass cut her even more.

"You haven't given up yet? Good girl!" The thin demon turned to one of his brothers beside him. "I like it when they try to fight back."

The largest demon laughed so loud that he never heard or saw the athame that suddenly appeared together with orbs in his chest. He whimpered just before he exploded into millions of pieces. Wow! She had no idea that she still was able to do that. The orbing had been an act of sheer panic. The other demons looked surprised at each other for two seconds. Then they turned towards Paige who had crawled into the kitchen to find something to defend her with. Her left leg didn't seem to work at all and she was in no condition to orb anything anymore. Her energy was running out fast.

"You are going to wish you never did that you bitch!" said Argamel and grabbed her by the hair and dragged Paige back into the living room. She left an impressive trail of blood behind her. Paige, who somehow had found a small knife that Piper used on fruit, stabbed him in the hand he was grabbing her with.

"OWWWW! That's it! Bax, zap her!"

Bax's hands started glow and sparkle with electrical lights as he sat down and touched her. Paige suddenly found out how it must feel to be tortured with electricity as raw energy surged through her body. It was pure pain. Getting thrown through a glass door was a picnic compared to this. She couldn't stop convulsing after the electricity finally was turned off.

"Stop it! We don't want her to die just yet, and you always fry them too much." Bax nodded and kicked Paige hard in the stomach instead. He was an excellent kicker; she felt several ribs crack. Paige landed on her back. She could hardly breath and all her limbs were numb from the electroshock.

The demons closed in her. The thin one had a vicious gleam in his eye. "Argamel, hold her legs! Bax, take her arms!" The other demons seemed to understand immediately and gave her an evil smile while they got hold of her limbs.

When the younger demon climbed on top of her, Paige's semiconscious brain started to understand what they were up to and she panicked. He ripped her shirt open with his claws and pushed her skirt up. She started to trash around even though she was too exhausted and in extreme amounts of pain just by moving.

"Stay still bitch!" He hit her in the face a couple of times. When Paige didn't stop fighting he took her head and banged it hard to the floor with a cracking sound. "I told you to STAY STILL!"

It felt like her head exploded wide open – it was white, hot pain; so intense that she forgot the rest of her body. While the pain slowly faded away, giving way to a consuming blackness, Paige could feel his razor sharp claws roaming her body. With a fast, elegant move he ripped her underpants away.

"I always believed in mixing business with pleasure. What do you think whore?"

* * *

In her hand Piper held the package that contained a dead murderer's hand. Internet was indeed a amazing thing - she had been surprised of how easy everything had been; finding the hand on eBay, buying it and getting it delivered to her post office. But vacuum-packed and freeze dried? That was just wrong!

Upon arriving to the manor Piper's senses immediately warned her that something was going on.

"Paige why is the door ope…?" Piper stopped quiet. She knew with dread that the peace was over. There were signs of struggle all over the house. Slowly, without making a sound she entered the living room. Nothing could prepare Piper for the sight that met her there; two demons were holding Paige down in the middle of the floor while a third demon was on top of her, undressing her. He had ripped open Paige's shirt and Piper could see bleeding claw marks on her sister's breasts. The demon was unzipping his pants. Piper lifted her hands and exploded the three demons with a loud bang and no particular effort. When she was able to take a closer look at Paige she gasped; Piper had never seen her little sister so beaten up before. Paige looked worse than Patricia Arquette did in "True Romance" after the guy played by James Gandolfini had beat her up. Her eyes were swollen shut, a thick layer of blood covered half of her face and she was covered in deep cuts and pieces of glass.

"My God, Paige! LEO!"

Paige was in and out of consciousness. Her breathing was irregular and sounded extremely painful.

"LEO! You got to come quick! Leo!"

Leo orbed in and took one look at Paige. "Oh my God! What happened?"

"Just help her!" Piper couldn't stand to hear Paige fighting for her breath anymore.

Leo's hands started to glow as he lowered his hands to Paige's wounds. It was a slow and exhausting process.

Paige began to wake up little by little. When she became aware that she was lying topless in front of Leo, Paige shot up and covered herself with the tattered remains of her shirt; Leo hadn't had the time to fix/heal her clothes yet. The panic was replaced by embarrassment and she became red as a tomato in the face. So did Leo who started to realize how naked his sister-in-law was.

Piper wasn't amused by the situation at all. She had more important things on her mind: "The kids! Where are Wyatt and Chris!"

A small key appeared in Paige's hand and she gave it to Piper. "They should be safe in my portable room in the attic. Just say the words: 'Kajagoogoo' and the door will appear."

"I'll go and check them." Leo took the key and orbed away, grateful to leave the awkward situation.

"Kajagoogoo?" Piper helped her sister to stand up on shaky legs.

"Yeah, I know… it's from that band in the eighties, the ones with only one hit. 'Too Shy' was playing on the radio when I was working on the room and I thought… " Paige was rambling, doing her best to sound normal but it was obvious that she was in a state of shock.

"Are you ok? What happened? Did they… ?" Piper looked worriedly at Paige who was paler than pale. She really looked awful; Leo hadn't had the time to heal her torn clothes or the blood that were still all over her. "Maybe you should sit down and tell me everything from the start."

Paige sat down on the sofa, took a deep breath and tried to make her voice as steady as possible. "You showed up just in time, Piper. Just before they… they was about to start… " Paige ran a trembling hand through her hair, that was sticky with blood, and decided to do as Piper told her – to start from the beginning: "They wanted Chris and Wyatt and when I couldn't orb them out of the house I hid them in my portable room."

"Good thinking. But why didn't you call for any of us, for help?" Piper sat down beside her and stroked Paige's back gently to make her relax.

"I did several times but the stone that trapped me and the boys inside the house must have made my calls for help silent to everyone."

"The stone? What stone?"

"They had this dark crystal… It's called Wart something and it shone with a little light inside. They used it like some kind of magnet when I was trying to orb away. It hurt like hell."

"It's probably a Wertobian Stone… Where is it?" Piper became excited - Esmeralda had told her about Wertobian Stones; they were extremely powerful – they could prevent demons from shimmering and create extremely strong force fields among other things. Wertobian Stones were practically extinct. Having a stone like that would make life much easier.

"Yeah, that's the name! Don't worry I managed to destroy it. Unfortunately I was to tired to orb away by the time so that's when they caught me." Paige felt a little proud over how she had been able to take away the stone from the demons.

"What! You destroyed a Wertobian Stone? Do you have any idea of how powerful and rare they are? If we could gotten our hands on that we would have been invincible!" Piper stood up, very agitated. She couldn't believe how close she had been to getting her hands on such a precious gem. And now it was gone forever thanks to Paige.

"Well, I'm sorry I smashed your precious stone, but if I hadn't I would have been dead by now."

Piper was too irritated, too caught up in her own thoughts about the missed opportunity, that she didn't notice the sharp tone in Paige's voice. She sighed impatiently and gave her sister a discontent shrug. "Fine, whatever you say."

Paige looked at Piper with wild eyes. Paige - who barely had a time to catch her breath since she had been lying on the floor beneath three demons that had been seconds away from raping her, felt something burst inside her. Suddenly she was furious with her oldest sister. Maybe it was Piper's nonchalant way of handling the situation that got to Paige, maybe it was misdirected rage from her fight with the demons or maybe it was just something that had been building up for a long time. Her voice was ice cold: "You sound as if you would rather have the stone than me alive."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Paige stood up. She was so mad she couldn't stop herself from screaming at Piper: "I'm so sick and tired of this – I am a person you know! Even if I'm not your sister anymore I'm still a person!"

"What are you talking about?" Piper didn't understand where this sudden aggressiveness from Paige was coming from.

"I thought that I was going to die! Just some minutes ago, in this room, I thought I was about to die while those demons were… were going to degrade me… And all you care about is some stupid stone! Sometimes I don't understand why I'm still around, why I still bother!"

Piper felt the panic rise within her. This was her biggest fear; everybody abandoning her, leaving her alone to fend for what was left of the family. She responded with anger, not thinking much of what Paige just had told her: "Well, why are you? Don't let me stop you on your way out of here if you hate it so much!"

"You are absolutely right. Goodbye!"

Paige orbed out.

"That's great! Just ORB out on all our problems, just… !" Piper realized the futile of standing there talking to the thin air. "Leo!"

Leo appeared with Wyatt and Chris sleeping in his arms. "What's going on?"

"Can you check where Paige went? I can take care of Wyatt and Chris."

"She left? Orbing? She is no condition to orb anywhere! What happened?"

Piper didn't have the energy to explain her and Paige's little argument. "Just go and get her back." Leo handed over the boys and orbed away. Piper looked at the mess in the house with an exasperated sigh. This was going to take ages to clean up.

* * *

While Piper stood there contemplating how to clean up, Phoebe came home to get some fresh clothes.

"What the fuck happened?" Phoebe stopped in her tracks and looked at the massive trail of blood that led from the kitchen to the next rooms. "Is that human blood?"

Piper turned around to her sister. "Yes. It's Paige's."

"My God! Where is she? Is she all right?" Phoebe panicked; she had never seen so much blood.

"Yes... no. I don't know… " Piper sighed, she felt very tired.

"What do you mean? Either she's ok or not."

"We had a fight."

"Did you this to her?" Phoebe pointed at the blood and looked at her big sister with big, wide eyes.

"Me? Of course not! Why do you think that? It was another demon attack. And now Paige is gone!"

"What? Did they take Paige!" Phoebe started to pace around the floor, ready to take up the fight despite her lack of powers.

"NO! Don't you hear what I'm saying?"

"What are you saying?" Phoebe stopped and looked at her sister quizzically.

"She just orbed… left."

"She went? Again? What did you say to Paige this time to make her do that?" Phoebe crossed her arms and gave Piper a look.

"Why do you think I have said anything to her? Why do you always assume that it's my fault?"

"C'mon Piper. You are grumpier than a walrus with a toothache. Paige has always been the tolerant one when it comes to your moods, plus she's so loyal. So you must have been really awful this time."

"I was not awful!" Piper was getting sick of everyone always thinking the worst of her.

"Maybe a little?"

"Look, she was already upset because of what the demons did to her so she overreacted when I tried to talk to her."

"What did the demons do to her exactly?" Phoebe pointed at the blood on the floor.

Piper closed her eyes, the horrible images from what she had seen in the living room washing over her. "They came when she was alone with the boys. Paige managed to hide them before they caught her… This was worse than any attack we ever had before, Phoebe. They beat her to a bloody pulp… and they were just about to rape her when I came home."

Phoebe was horrified. "No! That's terrible!"

Piper nodded silently, her excitement over The Wertobian Stone was long gone and the impact of the traumatic event was slowly seeping in. "Yes it was… Leo was able to heal her in the nick of time and then all of a sudden we had this fight over… nothing really."

"That's great! What did you say to her this time?"

"Don't you 'great' me! If you were here more often this would never have happened. Unburden Paige and me a little."

"I have no powers, I'm useless as a witch right now!"

"Well, isn't that convenient."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you think I don't notice how you constantly avoid us or anything witchy nowadays?"

"You are being ridiculous! Besides someone have to bring in the money you know! And don't you try to change the subject!"

"I'm not, you are!"

"Paige was nearly molested by demons and in great need of comfort and you probably… "

Piper cut Phoebe off: "I didn't see you comforting her, Phoebe."

Leo suddenly appeared in a cloud of orbs.

"So, did you find her?" Piper was eager to see her youngest sister again to clear the air between them and to show Paige that she really cared about her.

"Yeah."

"So?"

"She will come back at the end of the week." Leo looked uncomfortable; he knew that Piper wouldn't react very well to what he was about to say.

"What?"

"Piper, she needs some time alone. Leave her alone a little bit. She has hardly had any rest for several months and… "

"I haven't had a rest in several years! She was unemployed during the summer while I had a club to run, two small and very magical boys to take of and an estranged husband to worry about. Not to mention that both Heaven and Hell wants my two sons!"

"Piper. Paige will come back at the end of the week. Just leave at that ok?"

* * *

Paige was in her green Beetle, on her way to uncle Dave. Leo had been surprisingly understanding when she told him that she intended to go away for a couple of days to her aunt's funeral. He let her leave without much of a discussion and promised to look after Piper and the kids. She had washed away the worst of the blood that Leo hadn't had the time to heal away, redressed, thrown some clothes in an overnight bag and fled from Prescott Street. She didn't allow herself to think of what almost had happened in the living room with the demons; just thinking about it made her panic. So she expertly pushed all her memories and emotions of this particular trauma to a place deep down in her mind where she hid all the things she wasn't able to deal with. Too bad they later turned up as nightmares…

* * *

Uncle Dave and Aunt Julie had a small house across town, in her old neighborhood. It was strange coming back; Paige had expected everything to change as much as she had during her years as a witch. Instead all the houses and gardens looked the same as when she had left so many years ago. It was like traveling in time.

Her uncle greeted her with open arms when she showed up on his doorstep. She could see that Aunt Julie's death had taken a huge toll on him; he appeared much older than she remembered him, and he had this lost look his face. Paige's heart ached for Uncle Dave because she knew how much he had loved his wife. He was a shy man who never talked much of his feelings, in many ways he was the opposite of Aunt Julie, so Paige was moved to tears when he expressed how happy he was to see her. They both started crying and stood embraced on the doorstep for a long time, rocking back and forth, comforting each other. For Paige, who under the last couple of months had felt more and more shut out from her sisters, it felt like coming home, to a place where she was wanted.

Paige's cousin Cecilia - Uncle Dave and Aunt Julie's daughter, arrived from Mexico City the same evening with her husband Augosto and their two children; Hampus and Clara. It was happy reunion despite the sad circumstances - Cecilia and Paige were delighted to see each other after so many years. Hampus, who had been a baby last time Paige had seen him, was quite smitten with his mother's cousin. Before the six-year-old boy finally fell asleep Paige had been forced to read "The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking" for him three times, admired his dinosaur collection at least seven hundred times and helped him to build a fire engine with Lego.

It felt wonderful to reconnect with Uncle Dave, Cecilia and her family again. Ever since Paige became Piper and Phoebe's sister she had more or less lost touch with her relatives. It was her own fault - like she was afraid that Piper and Phoebe would take offence if she kept up with her old life – which was complete nonsense of course.

After the late supper, when Cecilia had put the children to bed, they all sat down at the table in the kitchen. They started talking memories – funny, happy, sentimental stories that lifted their grieving hearts a little. They laughed and cried together that evening, remembering the ones that weren't there. Aunt Julie had of course been the best storyteller of them all and they tried to honor her memory by trying to tell their stories as well as she could.

Paige lived with her uncle and his family for a couple of days and it was wonderful. Aunt Julie's death was sad and yet the best thing that could happen to Paige in a long time. They treated her like family and she reveled in it. Paige felt happy in spite of her grief. She was among family - people who cared about her, whose love for her she would never doubt. With them she was Paige Matthews, and that was all she ever needed to be. Nothing more.

* * *

The funeral ceremony was light and beautiful - it reminded of Aunt Julie in that way. A lot of people showed up to pay their respect. Paige wasn't surprised; her aunt was a very liked person. Many of them who showed up also knew Paige and her family (The Matthews). It was especially great to see some of her father's colleagues from the fire brigade. They were equally happy to see her and told her funny anecdotes about her as a child.

After the ceremony Paige felt someone tap her on the shoulder. It was Mrs. Belland – Glen's mom, a motherly and resolute woman who Paige had known in her whole life.

"Oh Paige, I'm so sorry about your aunt Julie! She was such an extraordinary person!"

"Thank you Mrs. Belland." Paige was a little bit unsure of herself in front of Glen's mom since that whole episode with Glen's wedding. She didn't know how much Mrs. Belland knew about what had happened.

"We have seen far too little of you out here. I almost forgotten how pretty you are." She gave Paige a pat on the cheek.

Paige blushed. Mrs. Belland had always gushed about Paige's prettiness when they were kids and Paige had hated it because she had been such a total tomboy. Now the compliment was more than welcome. "Have you heard anything from Glen? Is he still traveling in Asia? We kind of lost touch since the wedding." Paige cringed when she mentioned it; she was still very ashamed of how she had behaved, trying to stop Glen's marriage, even though she had been under demonic influence.

Mrs. Belland's face suddenly crumbled and Paige became aware of tired and totally devastated Mrs. Belland looked. "Oh Paige! Haven't you heard? Glen is missing in Sri Lanka since that big wave! We haven't heard from him since Christmas Day. Linus (Glen's older brother) is flying there right now."

Paige's stomach dropped - she had watched the news about the tsunami like everybody else and seen the harrowing pictures from the devastation around The Indian Ocean. The thought of Glen in the middle of the catastrophe was unbearable. She hugged Mrs. Belland who broke down in her arms, holding on to Paige like she was drowning. It was unsettling because Glen's mom was one of the most emotionally stable persons Paige knew. Across the room she saw Mr. Belland talk to Uncle Dave with teary eyes – Mr. Belland looked absolutely shell-shocked.

"I don't know what to do… we have tried to get in contact with the consulate in Colombo, with the embassy… but no one knows anything! I hate sitting at home waiting for any kind of sign that he is alive. We wanted to go to Julie's funeral to just to get out and meet people we know. And Julie was such a good friend… " Mrs. Belland didn't have to explain, Paige knew exactly how she felt.

"What about his wife? Is she missing too?" Despite the fact that Paige once had orbed Glen's wife to hell, she was still worried about her. Or maybe it was Glen she was worried about. Even though Paige didn't like the thought of Glen getting married, the thought of a heartbroken widowed Glen was way worse.

Mrs. Belland made an ugly grimace. "Well, that one is fine I think." Paige looked at her, very confused. "Paige dear, you haven't talked to Glen in a long time, have you? His ex-wife left him for an Australian diving instructor at the Maldives half a year ago. That little wench!"

"That's wonderful! That she's OK I mean… "

Mrs. Belland looked at her with a sad smile and put a strand of Paige's hair behind Paige's left ear. "You know… I always hoped that it would be you and Glen one day… "

Paige didn't know what to say so she gave Mrs. Belland a hug instead. "Don't loose hope… Glen is alive. He must be! I can feel it."

Mrs. Belland answered her by hugging her tighter and crying. Funny thing was that when Paige said that, she felt certain that her friend still was alive. She could really feel it.

* * *

Later that night when everyone else had fallen asleep, Paige locked herself in the bathroom and silently scryed for her childhood friend with the help of some maps she had printed off the Internet. Thankfully the scrying pointed to dry land in Southern Sri Lanka. Paige didn't dare think of how she would have reacted if the scrying had showed a place somewhere out in the sea.

When she orbed to the city where Glen was missing, she wasn't prepared for what she was about to experience. But then again, how can anyone prepare for such chaos and despair? A large part of the Sri Lankan city was in ruins; the tsunami had destroyed everything in its way. People around her were still in shock, grieving loved ones and trying to pick up their lives from the rubble the tsunami had left behind. The enormity of what had happened hit her like the wave itself. Paige felt so terribly helpless. Despite her Charmed powers she realized that she was just as powerless as everyone else.

Finding Glen was tough – it was an extremely hot day under a blazing sun and she was in a foreign country that just had a natural disaster of gigantic proportions. Paige checked local hospitals and hotels; she showed everyone in her way the photo of Glen. Several times she stopped her search to help people lift something up from under the rubble or clear a road. Usually they discovered dead bodies under the rubble they were lifting, causing heartbreaking scenes when people recognized a loved one among the dead.

What struck her the most on her quest for Glen was in spite of the general desperation and grief around her, people were amazingly helpful and generous. Someone offered water without Paige asking for it, another one gave her lift to one of the hospitals on his truck, everyone who could understand English stopped to take a look at her photo to see if they could recognize him. It warmed Paige's heart and she felt that she had been given a lesson for the rest of her life - people who basically had lost everything, who were facing bigger problems than Paige would ever face in her entire life, were still caring and giving with a sympathy and dignity that she seldom saw in her own part of the world. They set an example and Paige vowed to try to be as good person as all the people she had met in Sri Lanka that day.

After five hours she finally found some German tourists who recognized him. They told her the last time they saw him he was in a small village by the coast, surfing with some friends. Paige orbed to the village and met someone pretty quickly who could show her to Glen. He was in a school building, one of the few houses that were still standing in the village, together with other injured people.

She found Glen sleeping on small mattress in one of the classrooms. The whole school had been made into a make shift hospital, it was filled with people with various injuries or different stages of shock. Paige stood and watched him for a while with a racing heart. His clothes were torn and dirty, his feet and head was bandaged with some kind of cloth. He looked like something the cat had dragged in and he was still the most wonderful sight Paige ever had seen. She sat down beside him, a little hesitant to wake him up. What if he was in great pain? What if he had lost his memory and didn't know who he or she was? What if he was in a coma? A million crazy thoughts went through her head and before she had decided what to do, Glen woke up.

"Paige! Is it really you?" He looked at her with wide eyes, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. She smiled at him and he took one of her arms to confirm that she wasn't a dream. "It is you! What are you doing here?"

"I orbed here to searching for you. When I spoke to your mom and she told me that you were missing I decided to find you. She is so worried Glen… Your parents don't know if you are dead or alive. They don't know anything and they are so worried."

"My mom? Dad?" At the mention of his parents Glen started to cry, overcome by emotion. Paige hugged him and held him. When Glen calmed a little bit down he looked her in the eyes. "I'm so happy to see you. You have no idea… "

"It's good to see you too." They shared a moment that was neither romantic nor unromantic, it was just good.

"You orbed here to find me… you are amazing, you know that don't you?"

Paige blushed. "Linus is on his way looking for you. But my guess is it's going to take a while coming here… I have no idea if the airports are working in Sri Lanka right now. But I think you should phone the consulate and the local hospitals in the town to tell them where you are."

Glen started to cry again when he heard his older brother was coming to get him. "I would phone them if I could. The communication is down in this place and I lost all my stuff in the waves… Ben and Mike… the guys I was here with, they are gone too." Paige laid a hand on his shoulder and put her forehead to his while Glen wept for his friends. He looked embarrassed: "I'm sorry, crying is all I seem to do right now. You're here and I'm so happy to see you and all I do is cry"

"Sometimes it's good to cry." They smiled at each other. Paige touched the bandage on his forehead. "Are you very hurt?"

"No, pff… I cut up my feet and banged my head into something. It's looks worse than it is. I was way more hurt when I fell off that cliff in Peru a couple of years ago."

"You never learn, do you?" Paige looked at him with a mock scolding face but then turned serious. "I think you should call your family, Glen."

"How? As I told you: my mobile is gone and no communication works here right now."

"That's why I was smart enough to bring my mobile with me. I even made sure it could reach The States from here." Paige was a little amazed at herself for being so clever – she had enhanced it magically. She knew there would be some kind of repercussions from The Elders about personal gain but she didn't care. Paige walked out of the room to give Glen some privacy while he phoned home to his parents. After Glen was finished she found the man in charge of the hospital and gave him the mobile to use as he wished. The mobile would be able to reach the entire world without charge for three months - sometimes it's good to be a witch.

Paige stayed with Glen for the rest of that night. There was a little, terrified girl in the same room. She had terrible nightmares and woke up screaming. Someone told them that the girl's entire family was missing. They tried to console the girl as best as they could. Paige who had some experience in how it felt to lose family members let the girl cry while she hugged her. Good old human contact, like hugs, can actually save lives. Wherever you live on this planet, our feelings are universal. Loss is loss. Comfort is comfort. The girl finally fell asleep beside Glen and Paige knew that he would look out for her.

When Paige orbed back home she felt that she had been given perspective – even if she wasn't Phoebe and Piper's real sister, it wasn't the end. She still had them - they were alive and they walked the earth. And sometimes it is all you need to have.

* * *

Paige, the palest of all pale girls, couldn't help to get burnt the hot Sri Lankan sun while she was looking for Glen. When she came home to Prescott Street, her face had the color of a cooked lobster.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

"So, you finally decided to come back?" Piper came through the door from the kitchen with Chris on her arm. She took one look at Paige. "Wow! Did you forget to bring sun block to your resort or did you just orb right into the sun?"

"Very funny. Did you have any trouble with demons while I was gone?"

"Do you care?"

"Don't be silly, of course I care!"

"Yeah, you showed that real good by orbing out on us."

"I was gone for less than a week! Phoebe have been gone in over a whole month and that is ok?"

"Phoebe has no active powers while you on the other hand are too valuable to go missing like that. You can't just orb away every time you get upset over some little thing."

"Some little thing?"

"For your information we had one demon attack while you were gone. Leo and I were able to thwart it but we might not be so lucky the next time. So please, would it be too much to ask for some help and support before The Ripper Family kidnap my kids?" Piper stormed out of the room, slamming the doors after her.

Paige sighed: "Well gee, it was good to see you too!"

* * *

Deep down in the sewers: Benny was sitting quietly in the dark by the monitors when his junior agent, Annifrid stopped by with two cups of hot chocolate in her hands. She handed him one of the cups and plumped down beside him.

"Thank you Annifrid." He took one sip of the lava hot chocolate. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I don't want to… Paige's nightmares are freaking me out." Annifrid had some telepathic ability that allowed her to share the dreams of her target. "They stopped for a while during her stay at her uncle. I guess she felt safe. But they started as soon as she came back to her sisters. I have honestly no idea why she came back here at all."

Benny got a little worried, just like he had been with Björn. "Are you having sympathies towards your target?"

"No. But I guess I find her interesting sometimes."

Benny liked Annifrid's answer, he found the sisters interesting as well. He watched his junior agent and decided that he liked her, despite her being female and all. Annifrid was everything a good agent was supposed to be: intelligent, ambitious and interested in the human nature.

"I knew your father you know."

"You did?" At the mention of her father Annifrid's face light up. Since she never got know him, she loved to hear other Kalla Bongs talk about him.

"He was one of the finest agents that I ever had the pleasure to work with. It's a damn shame what happened to him."

"Yes." Annifrid looked down, hesitant over what she was about to say: "He was monitoring Paige Matthews when he disappeared."

"What are you saying!" Benny was shaken. "Why haven't you told me this before?" Annifrid's father had disappeared during a secret mission fifteen years ago. No one knew what had happened to him.

"Because I was afraid that if I told you; you wouldn't let me work on this assignment." That was true, if Benny had known this beforehand he would never let Annifrid work on this case. This was against every protocol: no agent was allowed to monitor a target with close personal attachments. It could get very messy.

"Why Annifrid?"

"Please Benny, I must do this! If Paige Matthews had anything with my father's disappearance I need to know!"

Benny hesitated. He should remove her from her job on the spot but something deep inside him didn't want to. Maybe it was because Benny understood. Kalla Bong had a very strong sense of revenge. "Ok then. You do what you have to do. But you must promise me to not do anything against protocol! Nothing stupid, ok? If Paige is guilty of your father's death I will kill her myself but I can't have you killing her without the approval of The Almighty Turnips (the Kalla Bong equivalent of The Supreme Court). Promise?"

"I promise."

Benny wasn't very convinced but it had to do for now. He couldn't stop thinking of why Annifrid's father had monitored the youngest Halliwell fifteen years ago and who the client might have been. As usual he had a feeling that Mr. Ledin was involved.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 8. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part I – The Trio"…

_Author's Note **AGAIN** – I wrote this chapter with one hand. I broke my arm recently and I want to give a good advice to anyone out there reading this: don't mix beer, wine and bad whiskey on a sunny Friday afternoon picnic because you might go INSANE and try to climb some roof on a nearby house for no logical reason whatsoever. And if you are really unlucky you will fall down and break something - like an arm for example. Now that's just stupid. So don't do it. IF you are going to do that anyway… well, stay away from the whiskey at least. And roofs._

_Have a good summer:-D_


	8. Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part I

_Author's Note – Thank you Laurie Lu, swimnewbie and jafarjasmineforever2005!_ _Your reviews keep me going. _

Chapter 8. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part I – The Trio

Benny's Report, Day 109 – around 7.00 (a.m.)  
Early that morning they finally came to see him. Just like Benny knew they would. The three demons that stood before him were young and very arrogant - which is typical for Ripper Demon families.

"Do you know who we are and who we work for?" The female leader of The Ripper Demon family loomed over him with a dangerous gleam in her pale blue eyes. Any other Underworld creature would be afraid in a situation like this. Ripper Demons were usually powerful and extremely cruel. Benny didn't let it show that he was nervous.

"Yes. I have known who you are for quite a while now. I also know that we work for the same employer – Mr. Ledin. " This was true, Benny had suspected them from the start when they had showed up.

The leader of The Ripper Family turned to her two siblings, a man and a woman who probably were twins, with a smile and made an approving nod towards Benny. "I told you he was good." She looked very different from the dark and exotic-looking twins with her blond hair and icy blue eyes – something about her made Benny suspect that she was the last one to be adopted into her family. Ripper Demon families always had a set number for how many (magical) people each family could contain and every family member had to fight, bully, manipulate and backstab the others in their family to not be replaced (killed) by someone more powerful. Grabbing the top position was a smart move to stay alive if you had more brainpower than magic powers.

"Pfff, he's just another ball! Can we just get this done and move on please!" The male Ripper Demon made a disgusted grimace. 'Ball' was the most common derogatory word for a Kalla Bong among demons. Racism had unfortunately always been very rampant in The Underworld. Benny sighed; he was used to demons calling him names but it always made him tired and unsure of why he was working for them.

One irritated look from the leader and the racist Ripper Demon immediately became silent. She turned back to Benny: "This is the deal – we attack today and we need your help to set the trap."

Benny started to sweat; he didn't like the sound of this. "How do you mean?"

"Well, it's simple. In order to catch the kids we need you to draw a pentagram around the Nexus in the basement and place these two in the pentagram." The leader of the trio nodded to her sister who gave Benny two small dolls that resembled Piper's sons.

"Are you serious?"

She looked Benny in his one eye and said: "Very serious."

"No. This is a very bad idea. I can't do this I'm Kalla Bong! Don't you know about The Curse? If you let me involve myself directly in your attack who knows what will happen?"

"Oh please! The Curse… what a pathetic excuse! No one believes in those old shitty lies anymore! Just do as you are told ball!"The male Ripper Demon would have struck Benny if his sisters hadn't held him back with some considerable force.

The leader crossed her arms and looked Benny in the eyes. "Look, I don't care if you are a Kalla Bong, a Warlock or a Woogeyman but you are going to put those dolls in the basement for us, in a nicely drawn pentagram containing the Nexus. It's the boss's order. Got it?"

Benny tried to plead with her: "This is not a good idea. Do you have any idea of what can happen if I do that?"

The leader Ripper Demon gave him a wicked smile. "Well, we just have to take our chances, won't we?"

* * *

Dear reader, you are probably wondering what Benny and The Ripper Demon Trio are talking about. Just take it easy and I will try to explain it as best as I can: Remember in chapter two ("The Curse of Kalla Bong – Chapter 2: Benny's First Report") of this strange and complicated story when I described Kalla Bong as catalysts?

So far Benny and his team of agents have only monitored the Halliwells. They haven't up until now involved themselves directly with any of the sisters. If they were to meddle magically in the lives of the Charmed Ones they could start an incredible chain of events that no one would be able to control. Well, 'that's life' you might say. Yes, life do consists of a series of events that we humans seldom seem to control – but usually none of these events ends with situations that will alter the balance of the whole Universe. Kalla Bongs have that power.

Have you ever heard of the "The Butterfly Effect"? It's Chaos Theory – that a large storm in New England may be caused by a butterfly wing flap in China. Kalla Bong are living and walking "Butterfly Effects" multiplied with a thousand. Whenever Kalla Bong directly involve themselves in magical matters strange things happen and no one can control the outcome– sometimes these events goes in the favor of evil and sometimes it goes in the favor of good. This is called The Curse of Kalla Bong in The Underworld.

* * *

"So are you going to help us or do I have to let my brother rip you apart?"

Benny closed his eyes for a moment, he knew he was defeated but inside he was boiling with anger. "Ok but I must warn you – anything can happen from the moment I put those dolls in that pentagram."

They laughed at his statement. "Just do as you are told and let us do the rest."

"May I ask you a question?"

"Sure why not?"

"Why now? Why not wait until Mr. Ledin, our mutual boss, returns and can give us some clear direction?"

The leader of the trio shrugged: "Because we are getting bored."

Benny sighed inwards; he hated that sort of impatient arrogance. Unfortunately it was very characteristic for most demons. "Another question: Why do you kidnap both of Piper's sons? You have only one unoccupied place within your family."

"That's not your business you smug fucking little ball!" The male Ripper Demon obviously had some kind of temper problem; once again the female Ripper Demons had to prevent their brother from striking Benny.

"You certainly are very inquisitive for a little 'ball', aren't you? I know we only have one place left to occupy. Our plan was to bring up the boys and let them fight for the place when they are grown up. Or we could just flip a coin over the matter. We haven't really thought about it that much yet." Something in the leader of the Ripper Demon Family's voice made Benny certain that one her siblings would die to make place for both of the Halliwell boys. He hoped it would be the male Ripper Demon that eventually would bite the dust.

He looked at the small dolls in his hand. "I will now go and do my part of your plan. You better go and do yours."

"Ok, let's rock'n roll!"

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 9. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part II – Piper & Phoebe"…


	9. Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part II

_Author's Note – Thank you so much AussieKazza14 and Laurie Lu for your reviews and yes, I have more or less thought the whole story through in my head. All of the three stories I'm planning to write. The hard part is to tell it in a good, understandable way (especially in English… if I had written it in Swedish the whole story would have been published here by now). _

_Also, I like Benny too! Actually I kind of love him. He is however a Kalla Bong and not a Ripper Demon so they can't kill him to make place for Wyatt and Chris. The Ripper Demons have to kill one of their own family members in order to do so. Hopefully when you read this chapter a couple of pieces will fall into place :-)_

Chapter 9. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part II – Piper & Phoebe

Benny's Report, Day 109 – around 1.00 (p.m.)  
After the meeting with the Ripper Demons Benny took the two small voodoo dolls that resembled Piper's sons, to the basement. There he painted a pentagram with a white chalk around The Nexus on the floor. When he put the dolls inside the pentagram Benny could almost feel how the air crackled around him as the Wheels of Time made new strange turns. Who knew what crazy things would happen because of this?

* * *

Piper was sitting on her knees in the attic, writing a pentagram on the floor with goat blood. Esmeralda stood beside her holding a pig's heart. Piper was excited – today was the day when she was going to perform the last ritual to create The Mouyawan Protection Spell. It almost felt like graduation.

The kids were playing together in a corner of the attic and Piper and Esmeralda were both in a formidable mood. All the preparations for the ritual had gone smoothly and they just had a terrific brunch out in the garden. Piper never imagined that Dark Magic could be so fun. Burying the dead man's hand in a cemetery during full moon for example, was not as scary as Piper thought it would be. They actually had a great time doing it. The light from the moon made the cemetery look aerie and beautiful. Esmeralda had brought some coffee in a thermos plus some good old malt whisky for the cold.It had felt more like a picnic than a Dark Magic ritual.

Piper finally put The Last Urn of Moth in the center of the pentagram. The drawing on the floor was light up with a warm yellowish glow. Esmeralda placed the pig's heart near the urn and the heart started to beat with a steady rhythm. It was gross but also cool in a "creepy horror movie kind of way".

Esmeralda wiped her hands. "That's it Piper. That was the final installment. Now all you have to do is to place Wyatt and Chris there and read the spell."

The boys were a little grumpy when they were separated from Justin and Emilia, Esmeralda's two children. The kids got along amazingly well and could play together for hours and hours. The pentagram glowed even more when Wyatt and Chris were inside. Piper couldn't believe it was true, finally she was going to have an effective force field that could protect her sons from the Ripper Demon family. It felt like a huge stone was lifting from her heart. Piper gave Esmeralda a nervous smile: "Ok, here we go."

Her new best friend gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It will go fine Piper. You're doing good."

The spell was in an old Mayan language. Esmeralda had helped Piper with the pronunciation to make everything right.

Nupul utis waxaklahun chilkay  
Kanlahun miyatz witz b'olonlahun  
k'oh, k'ohb'a' ahaw sawal-thaan  
sahahkuunt chiikbes

While she read the spell the yellow glow intensified and turned red. The pig's heart burst into flames, a weird bluish smoke and echoes from strange voices filled the room. Once the spell was over there was a bright flash. When Piper's eyes adjusted back she couldn't see Wyatt or Chris sitting in the pentagram anymore. The pig's heart was a pile of soot and ashes.

Piper went into panic mode immediately: "What happened? Where are the boys!" Her voice was getting more and more desperate with every word. What had gone wrong? She must have done something wrong! Piper turned to Esmeralda who stood there calmly with a little smile on her lips. Her friend raised her hands in the air and generated a concussion wave that made Piper fly through the room and crash-land into a small coffee table.

Piper lifted herself painfully off the rubble around her. "Esmeralda?"

Esmeralda said nothing. She raised her hands once again and this time Piper flew right into a wardrobe in the corner of the attic. She felt her right collarbone break on the impact with the old furniture. It hurt like hell but the betrayal of her friend hurt even more. Piper lifted her hands and did her best explosion with tears in her eyes. The bang was loud enough to make Justin and Emilia cry in their corner of the attic. Piper blinked with surprise, she had used every ounce of her power but the explosion was more of a whimper than a bang. Esmeralda was still standing, holding a severely burned arm. She must have messed with Piper's power somehow; otherwise she would have been dead by now.

"Bitch!"

"How could you do this to me? I thought we were friends!"

Esmeralda's face became an ugly grimace. "Well, this 'friend' is going to kick your ass!" She raised her hands in the air to throw Piper through the room again but this time she was too late, Piper had tackled her to the ground and held her by the throat.

"How could you! How could you sell my children to the Ripper Demons!"

Esmeralda gave her an evil smile: "You're looking at the Ripper Demon you idiot!" With those words she shimmered away, out of Piper's hold.

Piper broke down alone on the floor in the attic. "Leo, where are you! Leoooooooo!"

* * *

Phoebe looked at herself in the mirror while she was dressing. Today was the day. She and Emilio had talked about it back and forth for several days now and she had finally made up her mind. Today was the day when she was going to drink the power-stripping potion and get out of her magic life.

Strangely Phoebe felt nothing. She wasn't excited, she wasn't sad and she wasn't happy. She felt like a zombie.

Emilio came into view in the mirror, hugging her from behind. He was back - early this morning he had gone to his sister to get a new, better power-stripping potion for her to drink. "So today is the big day huh?" He dangled the bottle in front of her.

"Yes." Phoebe took the bottle and looked at it for a long time.

He seemed a little bit unnerved by her lack of emotion. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know."

"I know."

When Phoebe made no move to drink from the bottle Emilio finally got the hint. "What? Do you need a little space? You want me to leave?"

Phoebe gave him a weak smile. "I think so."

Emilio kissed her on her forehead. "Just say if you need something. You might be a little dizzy after you have drunk it."

"Ok, I will." Emilio left the room. Phoebe was alone with the bottle of potion. The little vial of glass was hypnotizing her. Would it be the answer to all her prayers? She opened the bottle and braced herself for the impending feeling of getting her powers stripped. As she brought the bottle to her lips she closed her eyes and held her breath. This was it!

After a second Phoebe opened her eyes again, breathed out slowly and looked at the bottle again. Something just felt off. Call it a whim, call it a hunch – she didn't really understand why she did it but she slowly opened the drawer in the cupboard in front of her and poured the content of the bottle over Emilio's underpants lying there.

"So did you take it?" Emilio was suddenly standing in the door.

Phoebe turned to him and lied without blinking. "Yes."

"How do you feel?"

"Powerless." That wasn't a lie - Phoebe didn't have any active powers, The Council had taken them from her before she met Emilio.

His smile broadened while he formed a fireball in his right hand. "Good!"

"What are you doing Emilio?" Her voice was still calm and detached. For some reason Phoebe wasn't especially surprised at the turn of events – it seemed almost logical at this point.

"I'm putting you out of your misery Phoebe."

"Why?"

"Because you have been miserable since the moment I met you. You should be grateful to me for doing this."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Phoebe wanted him to keep talking to her; that could buy her some time. He seemed to be one of those who liked to brag and give long meaningless speeches before he killed someone. Her left hand was behind her back, scrambling around in her purse on the cupboard, to find something to defend her with. Finally she found it! Her favorite athame, the one with blue gem stones in the handle.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Phoebe. You are so extremely good at denial, aren't you? But you must know that you can't fuck away your problems."

Oooh that hurt! Phoebe was going to make him die a slow death for that last comment. All she needed now was a perfect opportunity. And more time: "But seriously Emilio, if that's your real name… why are you doing this?"

"Why? Let's just say that I always wanted to have brothers instead of sisters."

"You are one of the Ripper Demons." It was more a statement than a question.

"Bingo! Am I breaking your heart Phoebe? Do you feel used and seduced? Do I crush your dreams of us getting married and starting a family? If it's any consolation you have been one of the best witch sluts I have ever had the pleasure to fuck and kill." His voice was mean and mocking.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Oh please get over yourself Emilio." She really didn't need to hear anything more – she threw her athame with an amazing precision. It hit him right in the chest. He looked at it for a moment then he looked at her with confusion just before he fell backwards. Phoebe walked up to him and cut off a considerable chunk of his meat. Emilio screamed with pain. When she picked up the little bottle of vanquishing potion that Paige had insisted that Phoebe always should carry with her, he started to tell her that he loved her and that they were soul mates. Phoebe dropped the slice of Emilio into the bottle and looked at him before she crushed the bottle with it's content on his chest.

"You are right Emilio. I can't fuck away my problems."

She watched him die a slow agonizing death, burning and melting away. He screamed, pleaded with her, and cursed her until he finally died. In the end he was nothing but a little puddle of green goo on the floor that were evaporating into the air. It smelled like sulphur.

Phoebe tried to call the manor all the way home but no one picked up the phone. She still felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

* * *

Benny read the reports that lay before him on the table on more time. It was too early to tell how everything would turn out. He urged his agents Björn and Agneta to keep following the sisters.

He looked nervously at the clock. Annifrid hadn't come back with her report on Paige yet. Benny wanted to know how The Ripper Demons attack on the youngest sister turned out. He had a feeling that it would be very important for the outcome of the whole event.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 10. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part III – Paige"…


	10. Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part III

_Author's Note – Thanks once again for you reviews AussieKazza14, charmed-greek and Laurie Lu. I never thought other people's opinions about what I write would mean so much - but they do! You make all the time and effort writing this worthwhile. _

Chapter 10. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part III – Paige

Benny's Report, Day 109 – around 9.00 (a.m.)

To fully understand what happened this particular day we have to go back to the early morning of the same day, just a couple of hours after the meeting Benny had with the Ripper Demon family- before the attacks on Piper and Phoebe.

This is where Annifrid's report on what happened to the youngest sister begins…

* * *

Paige stood outside her boss Jenny's apartment and knocked on the door with shaking hands. It was too early to make a social visit but she didn't know whom else she could turn to. An hour ago she had gotten the last phone call from the man of her nightmares - the man who she knew all to well, the man who had harassed her at the mall. Somehow he had gotten hold of her mobile number. He had been calling since four o'clock that morning screaming incoherent obscenities at her. Now the mobile was shut down and she had a new, secret phone number. She had also decided to get that restraining order Jenny had been talking about. Finally the door opened.

"Hey Paige, what brings you here?" Jenny was standing in the door with nothing but a bathrobe on, smoking a cigarette. She looked relaxed and had that "after-sex-glow" going on. This was a different Jenny - not at all the professional and businesslike woman Paige knew from work.

Paige started to ramble while she fought to not cry. "He… he called me on my mobile phone! I don't know how he gotten hold of my number but… but I think I want a restraining order and I don't know who else to turn to… "

Paige must have looked extra pathetic because Jenny put out her cigarette and gave her a hug. "Oh Paigey! Come on in! " Jenny ushered Paige into her apartment.

She placed Paige on the sofa in the living room and went out to the kitchen to fix them some coffee and breakfast. Jenny's apartment was light and expensively furnished in a modern style. Paige liked it. She could hear that someone else was also in the apartment - probably Jenny's lover. She felt very embarrassed for barking in the way she had, because she obviously had interrupted something in Jenny's private life. From her viewpoint in the sofa Paige could look into the bedroom and the bedroom mirror. She didn't mean to look but she did it anyway and caught a glimpse of Jenny's naked lover in the bedroom mirror. He seemed familiar to Paige somehow… For two seconds she couldn't quite put the man and her memory together but she was sure that she had seen him somewhere before. Then she realized who the man was.

Jenny showed up in the living room with a tray filled with bread, butter, all different kinds of jam and fresh coffee. "Heeeere we go! Breakfast coming right up!"

"He… Who… who was that?"

"Who honey?" Jenny looked at her with an amused expression.

"The guy in your bedroom. I know it's totally not my business but I think my sister is seeing him too." Paige remembered him clearly – the man in Jenny's bedroom was the same guy who had been making out with Phoebe during the Christmas Dinner a month ago – Phoebe's new ghostwriter-boyfriend.

"What are you talking about? Who? What guy?"

Paige pointed at the bedroom door. "The guy! The guy in your bedroom! I know it sounds like a pretty weird coincidence but… "

Jenny's voice interrupted her: "There are no coincidences darling." Something new and different in Jenny's voice made Paige turn around towards her friend just as the ashtray came crashing down on her forehead. Everything went black.

* * *

When Paige came to she was lying in the same spot where she had fallen. She was nauseous and had a pounding headache. The feeling of disorientation was overwhelming at first, just like in the old days during her drinking years when she used wake up in strange places with no recollection of how she had gotten there.

Paige heard voices in the background. She couldn't make out the words but it sounded like the people the voices belonged to were in some kind of argument. She tried to open her eyes and focus on the closest thing in front of her. It turned out to be an ashtray made of marble. It took Paige one minute to connect the huge dent in the ashtray with the sore spot on her forehead. She rose slowly into a sitting position and looked around. When she saw the rest of Jenny's living room it all came back to her. Her friend's betrayal stung – Paige had admired and idolized Jenny, trusted her and told her things she never had confided in anyone before. Without Jenny as a friend Paige would have no one to talk to.

Paige had fallen down on a soft, Oriental rug – in every corner of the mat was a glowing crystal placed, forming a force field that held her captured. She tried to orb out of the field but it was impossible, she tried to break the field by orbing one of the crystals but none of the stones moved. The only thing that happened was that she became dizzy and more nauseous. She was trapped.

Suddenly a bottle of wine was hurled through the room. Paige ducked. It crashed on one of the walls making a huge red stain. Paige heard something else crash in the hall.

"Don't tell me what I think!" A dark, beautiful woman came into the living room. She was followed by Phoebe's boyfriend/Jenny's lover - soon to be Phoebe's ex-boyfriend Paige hoped (and boy was she right!). He looked as angry as the woman he followed.

Jenny was the last to enter the living room; she was dressed now and looked happy. She smiled when she saw Paige sitting up. "Hey you! How are you feeling?"

The dark woman and Phoebe's boyfriend stopped arguing and turned around to watch Paige with interest. Paige felt like an animal in a cage under their scrutiny.

Phoebe's boyfriend chuckled to Jenny: "Wow, she actually woke up. You clocked her so hard that I thought she would be in a coma for the rest of the week."

"She really messed up your Afghan rug, Jenny." The dark woman made a disgusted face.

Paige looked down and discovered for the first time a large bloodstain where she had fallen. She touched her forehead and discovered more blood.

"Let me go and get you something to freshen up with." Jenny walked out of the room as if nothing had happened. The dark woman and Phoebe's boyfriend lost interest in Paige almost instantly and continued their fight. Paige began to suspect the two were siblings.

Jenny came back with a wet towel and a glass of water and gave them to Paige. Jenny seemed to have no problem with moving in and out of the force field. The wet towel felt wonderful on Paige's sore head.

"You missed a spot." Jenny gave her the glass of water and took the towel and wiped Paige's face tenderly. The towel quickly turned red.

Paige downed the water in one gulp and looked at Jenny with hatred. "You did this to me!"

Jenny seemed to take no notice of Paige's hostility towards her; she simply smiled and turned her attention towards the arguing brother and sister. Their fight had taken a turn for the worse and the two siblings were now on the verge of exchanging blows with each other. Jenny took neither sides or tried to calm things down. As the fight continued Paige realized that Jenny rather goaded the two siblings on.

Finally the dark woman, whose name was Esmeralda, had enough and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door after her.

Phoebe's boyfriend kicked the sofa. "Aaaargh! She's driving me nuts! I can't wait till she's dead and buried! What a bitch!"

Jenny patted the distraught man on the arm. "Temper temper now Emilio, darling. In all due time, ok?"

He suddenly smiled, turned around and kissed Jenny passionately. When the kiss broke he looked honestly apologetic. "Sorry! She just gets on my nerves and I can't help myself."

Jenny gave him a dirty smile. "You can never help yourself, can you?" They kissed with even more passion and moved quickly to the bedroom.

As the door to the bedroom closed Paige tried to contact Leo several times. No one came. Paige shut her eyes and lay down on the rug where she fell asleep.

* * *

When Paige woke up, Jenny had redressed and whatever had happened between her and Emilio was now over. The two lovers were talking with hushed voices as if they didn't want to wake Paige. She saw Jenny give Emilio a small bottle.

"Make sure that she drinks it all."

Emilio pocketed the bottle. "Ok. No problem." Then he felt Paige's eyes on him and said to Jenny while nodding towards Paige: "She's up. "

Jenny gave her a warm smile: "Feeling any better? Sometimes sleep is the best cure."

Paige was speechless; she didn't understand how Jenny could be so casual around her, as if nothing had happened and they still were friends.

Emilio watched her with interest. He turned to Jenny: "This one is really cute! When all this is over can I have her too?"

The question seemed to annoy his lover. "No! This one is mine. Now get out and do your job."

"Ok." The lovers parted with a long smoldering kiss. Just as Emilio was about to go he winked at Paige. "I'm going to kill your sister now. Have a good day!"

Paige became frantic; she was trapped in here on the Oriental rug with absolutely no way of warning her sisters.

Jenny turned to Paige with a smile: "They are a little hot-headed but they actually mean well. You want some herbal tea for your headache? I have this great Chinese herbs that… "

"Mean well? He said he was going to kill my sister!"

"Yeah, well ok… I guess that can seem a little bit hard."

"'A little bit hard'? Who are you! Why are you doing this!"

Jenny crossed her arms and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You haven't figured that one out yet? I thought you were smarter than that Paige."

For half a second Paige didn't understand what she meant until dawned on her. "You are the Ripper Demons. You have been playing us all along. My God, I can't believe how stupid we've been!"

"Yep. We figured the easiest way to kill you and kidnap the boys would be to get close to the three of you and pretend to be your friends. We paid other demons to attack you all the time, to be able to know your weaknesses. Turns out that your biggest weakness is your trust in your friends."

Paige felt like she was going to throw up. This was just too much!

"Now you look so pale that you have me worried. I'm going to get that cup of herbal tea and some painkillers. Be right back." Jenny went to the kitchen and came back with a cup of steaming tea that smelled lovely and a couple of pills.

"How do I know that you won't poison me with that?" Paige gave her a dirty look.

"You don't. That's a risk you have to take. Beggars can't be choosers. Now be a good girl and drink some."

Paige did as she was told while she glared angrily at her ex-friend who sat down in the sofa in front of her. The tea tasted great and the painkillers made her head hurt a little less. For a while they said nothing, Jenny looked slightly bored so Paige finally decided it was time to break the silence. "So… have you been planning this for long?"

"Well, we had been discussing who we would adopt and take the last place in our family ever since our 'Nana' died some years ago. Eventually we all agreed that one of your nephews would the best choice. Either of those two would make us the most powerful Ripper Demon family in the world."

Paige couldn't help herself. "IF you succeed… "

Jenny gave her an amused look where Paige sat on the Oriental rug, trapped in a very efficient force field. "Well by the looks of it, we probably will."

Paige changed the subject. "So you all are in the same Ripper Demon family? Does that mean that you and Emilio are… ?"

"… brother and sister? Yes, in a way, but not by blood - I am adopted just like you, remember? Emilio and Esmeralda on the other hand are real brother and sister though. Twins actually. They have been doing this Ripper Demon gig for 120 years when they adopted me."

"So you never really told your adoptive family to fuck off - you just fuck them."

Jenny gave her a dark look. "Very clever. Look, you don't understand how things work in Ripper families. The weakest link always gets replaced by someone more powerful. That's the rule we live by. When Emilio and Esmeralda adopted me into their family they had high hopes for me to become a very powerful demon with Avatar powers. When that didn't happen they would have killed and replaced me if I didn't turn useful. So I took control of our little family by every means necessary

Paige was disgusted. "Even if that means you have to sleep with them?"

"Oh please! Come off your high horses. You are just as bad as me. You would do anything just as long you are a valuable member of the Halliwell household. In that sense we are a little bit alike you and me."

"I'm nothing like you! I don't sleep with any of my sisters! I don't turn them against each other for my own amusement."

"But you ARE like me darling! Aren't you always overcompensating because of your fear of rejection? Aren't you always scared that you will be replaced by the 'Oh So Holy Prue' as soon as your so-called sisters find a way to bring her back?"

Paige hated the way Jenny always seemed to be able to tap into her worst fears and insecurities. Was she really that transparent? "That is not the same!"

Jenny raised an eyebrow mockingly. "It's not?"

"No. Besides they wouldn't do that."

"Yeah right. As if they hadn't already rejected you. They have only put up with you because it's necessary, convenient! You should give up on them because from where I'm standing they have given up on you."

"You are talking bullshit! Besides, I will never give up on my family!"

"Am I? Paige, you are the one that's talking BS right now. They are not your family! You have this idiotic unrealistic dream that you belong. But you can't, because you are like me: adopted, unwanted, no roots, no real connection to anything. We are also both half-breeds, I'm half avatar and you are half whitelighter - we can't even count ourselves as humans. I bet that bitchy sister, the one with the brats, looks down on you for that."

"No! Her sons are just like us… I mean like me!"

"Fathered by the lovely but boring Leo… "

"Awfully lot you know about my family."

"Everyone in the Underworld loves to gossip about The Charmed Ones. So there is very little I don't know about you and the Halliwell bunch. You know as good as me that you were never a part of the Halliwells. You are and will always be a total outsider."

Paige said nothing so Jenny continued.  
"I will give you an example: My siblings Emilio and Esmeralda, you saw them fighting in here today. They are always fighting like that – passionate, like it was for life and death, throwing things at each other, saying the worst, hurtful things. And suddenly the next minute they are best friends. Only real family members can do that to each other. I bet you've seen Pepper and … "

"Piper."

"Oh yeah right, … Piper and Phoebe rip into each other's throats just like that a couple of times. Am I right?"

Paige thought of a couple of times when Piper and Phoebe had been fighting like that and Jenny had described it perfectly. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Could you fight with any of them like that? Like they fight with each other?"

Paige looked down completely defeated because she realized what the Ripper Demon meant. Even though she had been in what almost could be called a fight with Piper twice the last couple of weeks it was nothing like she had seen her two sisters behave towards each other when they were really mad; Piper always started to talk between clenched teeth and swear like a sailor when that kind of fighting started and Phoebe had a penchant for breaking china. Paige would never be able to fight, scream, swear and break china with Piper or Phoebe in the same way - they were just not close enough. "No."

"Exactly!"

* * *

Esmeralda suddenly shimmered in. She looked as furious as she had done when she had left the room a couple of hours ago. "The damn bitch tackled me! She also burned my arm and I think she broke one of my fingers! She was just about to strangle me when I got away!"

Paige was very relieved by the dark woman's angry rants; at least she knew that Piper was still alive.

Jenny got up. Her tone changed into a cold and businesslike tone. "So I take it that you failed to kill her?"

Esmeralda looked down, ashamed. "Yes."

"Did you take care of the boys? Are they where they supposed to be?"

Esmeralda started to blush. "I think something went wrong… They are in the Mouyawan Dimension for sure, waiting for us… but I just can't find them."

Jenny sighed. "How did that happen?"

"I think something was wrong with one of the ingredients; maybe The Last Urn of Moth was damaged. I don't know… "

"Ok ok, how do we find the kids now?"

"I think we can track them down with the help of Piper actually. We can use a Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell using her blood relation with the boys. So you see, it was a good thing that she's still alive."

Jenny started to pace on the floor, planning for the next steps to be taken. "Yes thankfully everything worked for the best. We were lucky. We better prepare ourselves because Piper will definitely show up here and demand her sons back." Jenny stopped and gave her sister a grave look. "I told you not to underestimate the sisters so this time I hope you take better precautions."

Esmeralda didn't like to be told of her mistakes. She nodded annoyed towards Paige. "How come this one is still alive?"

"She is alive because we need to have a backup if any of you two mess up. Now go and do what you are supposed to. When the Halliwell sisters show up we will give them a welcome that they will never forget!"

Paige felt completely powerless – her sisters were walking into a trap and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

* * *

Benny finally put Annifrid's notes down on the table. What he had read made him uneasy. Maybe it was all the years of experience as a Kalla Bong agent reading between the lines… he just had a very bad feeling about what was about to happen. All he knew was that the lives of the Halliwell sisters would never be the same.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 11. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part IV – Finale"…


	11. Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part IV

_Author's Note – Thank you so much Laurie Lu and Ligia Elena for your nice reviews. You both have given me feedback for more or less every chapter so far and I am eternally grateful for your patience and nice words._

Chapter 11. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part IV – Finale

Benny's Report, Day 110– around 7.00 (p.m.)

Benny was pacing nervously around down in the sewers under the Halliwell Manor. He hadn't heard anything from his agents in several hours and the worry was slowly killing him. He jumped when his mobile suddenly rang (with a very silent tone so that anyone who was in the manor above him wouldn't be able to hear). It wasn't anyone of his agents unfortunately; it was a bicycle courier who wondered where he was supposed to deliver the papers he had for Benny.

Benny met the courier behind the garage outside the manor. It was a good place – Benny could turn visible without any other humans seeing him and it was safe from the cat that used to come to the Halliwell garden. Kalla Bong and cats don't mix very well… but that's another story for another time. Benny paid the bicycle courier and went back to the sewers with his long awaited reports. The courier took the money without even a blink and cycled away.

You might find a little bit weird that the bicycle courier didn't react to Benny – who was a slightly glowing creature with green skin, no legs, one eye and half the size of a human (not to mention the gun belt with the banana!). Bicycle couriers never seem notice such strange details about their clients when they deliver something. This is a well-known fact among The Underworld and this is why demons always use them to send notes and packages.

No one really knows why bicycle couriers are extra tolerant towards society's weirder, more paranormal beings – some speculate it is because of the stress of racing from one address to another, some think it is because of all the fumes in the traffic that makes the poor couriers think they are hallucinating, others have a theory about bicycling producing a hormone that makes people indifferent. The main opinion however is that the giant and probably uncomfortable sock that the bicycle couriers always put into their (too) small spandex pants, is somehow magically preventing them from forming any conscious thoughts. The demon society has always been big on conspiracy theories involving magic socks.

Benny sat down and started to read…

* * *

Phoebe had been breaking speed limits and committed several other traffic violations while driving home to Prescott Street from Emilio's place. Emilio her beautiful, sexy and slightly stupid ex-lover who turned out to be a murderous, nasty and slightly stupid Ripper Demon that wanted to kill her in order to kidnap her beloved nephews. Phoebe shook her head while thinking of him; he wasn't the first to underestimate her and now he was just a puddle of green goo on the hall carpet in his apartment. Men! They will never learn…

She didn't need have to have Powers of Premonition to figure out that the rest of her family was in grave danger. If Emilio was a Ripper Demon trying to kill her then her sisters probably were under some kind of attack as well.

* * *

Piper was still lying on the attic floor weeping for her sons when Phoebe found her. She was injured and in a state of shock so it took a while before Phoebe could get the full story out of her sister.

Apparently Piper had been duped by a Ripper Demon, just like Phoebe – a woman/demon had gained Piper's full trust and friendship, by pretending to be a witch in jeopardy. She had kidnapped Wyatt and Chris while they were doing a spell together.

The more Piper told Phoebe the more she seemed to come back to her senses. She also became more agitated and angry. After a while Piper was limping impatiently around in the attic, holding her injured shoulder while she was cursing her own stupidity: "I can't believe that she could trick me so easily… that bitch! How could I be so stupid! She took my sons Phoebe! She took Wyatt and Chris!"

"And we will get them back. Listen, you were just trying to help someone who you thought was your friend. That's not a bad thing in itself. She tricked you, it's not your fault." Phoebe tried comfort her sister with her best advice columnist psychology but Piper was too mad to listen.

"Well, those fault is it? I should have seen this coming; I should have been more suspicious! And if you guys were at home a little bit more this wouldn't have happen you know! Where are my family when I need them!"

"Well, Paige is probably also under some kind of attack just like you and me. We really need to find her quick. And Leo… Leo is doing the best he can wherever he is right now… " Phoebe paused a little bit trying to find a good way to say the question but gave up. "Where is he by the way?"

"I have been calling him for the last half hour. No answer. Hopeless!" Piper put her arms up in the air but then realized how much that kind of movement hurt her broken collarbone. "Ow!"

"That's strange. Honey, we really do need to fix that arm of yours… Leo!"

* * *

Somewhere else: Leo in another dimension fighting with a giant double-headed octopus unable to hear the calls of his charges.

* * *

No Leo.

"This is the final straw: I want a divorce!"

"You don't mean that Piper."

"Ok, I didn't mean that but I am going to castrate him with a blunt ice skate if he doesn't show up within three seconds. LEO!"

Still no Leo.

"You didn't mean that either Piper… or did you?"

Piper turned to Phoebe with despair in her eyes. "Oh Phoebe, what am I going to do! What has she done to my sons!"

Phoebe had no answer for that. She looked at her big sister who was shaking with emotion and pain. Phoebe realized that it was time for her to step up and be strong for her sister. She had to take the lead: "We are going to get them back Piper, I promise! Ok, do you have something that belongs to The Ripper Demon? Something that we can use when we scry for her."

Piper looked around and her eyes fell on Justin and Emilia – Esmeralda's son and daughter, who had been playing quietly in a corner of the attic the whole time. "Well, I have her kids… "

"She left her kids here? What kind of mother does that? I know she's a demon but seriously… " They walked over to the two kids. Justin was taking apart an ancient Barbie doll while Emilia had fallen asleep on Prue's old beanbag. Justin gave them a bright smile and held up the Barbie doll for them to see. "Awww! Look at them! They are adorable!" Phoebe picked up Justin who gave her a wet kiss. She probably could convince Sheila to look after them while she and Piper did their magic rescue.

Piper didn't say anything. With a determined face she cut off a strand of Justin's hair and one from Emilia's dark locks. "This should do it."

Piper started to make some pretty powerful vanquishing potions while Phoebe made Sheila come and look after the kids. Darryl was at some conference in Quantico and Phoebe had a feeling that Sheila wasn't going to tell him about her helping The Charmed Ones. They weren't so great in his book anymore. Phoebe had put a Cloaking Spell on the kids for safety measure so that Sheila wouldn't be in any danger while babysitting.

Finally Piper said the potions were ready and they went to get their sons. Phoebe was a little bothered about the fact that they didn't have any kind of plan.'

* * *

Paige had a hard time not falling asleep while Jenny and her sister Esmeralda was preparing for The Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell. For Jenny's part it meant eating a Double Whopper Menu. Esmeralda on the other hand was running around reading incantations, burning a lot of incense and banging on a little drum.

"Seriously Jenny, we should be grilling a goat according to this spell. I don't think some junk food is going to make the cut for The Double Burger Triple Dimension Spell."

"C'mon it says any kind of meat in the book you have and a Double Whopper has that. Now, if it was a Big Mac we should have been a little bit more worried because I always suspected that they don't have any meat or food-like properties in them at all…"

"Sometimes I wish that you could take magic a little bit more seriously Jenny."

"Sometimes I think you should be grateful that I'm not a vegetarian… "

Their petty little argument never reached further because in that moment the door to the apartment flew open.

"Where are my kids bitch!" Piper raised her hands to explode the people in front of her. She planned to explode the blonde woman who stood beside Esmeralda, eating a hamburger and after that she would explode limb after limb on her ex-friend until she told her the whereabouts of Wyatt and Chris. Unfortunately nothing happened. She raised her hands and tried again. Still nothing.

Phoebe looked uneasily at Piper. Why didn't she just explode the Ripper Demons in front of them? Before she could ask her sister what the hell was going on she heard Paige screaming in the background.

"Lookout!"

The blonde Ripper Demon had moved incredibly fast and pushed a surprised Phoebe down on the floor. Before she could react the other Ripper Demon threw a vial of potion that exploded in a puff of blue smoke at her feet. Phoebe started to cough. When the smoke cleared and she tried to move she realized that she had been trapped in some kind of force field. It was impossible to break through. "Piper, help me!"

"Not so fast. Piper, if you want to see your kids ever again, you stay right there and don't move a muscle." Esmeralda's voice was calm and menacing - everyone in the room could hear her crystal clear.

Piper gave Phoebe a desperate look. It was then Phoebe understood that they were trapped. She saw Paige standing across the room in a force field similar to her own, bleeding from a nasty gash in the forehead. They were all three at The Ripper Demons's mercy.

The blond Ripper Demon turned her icy stare towards Phoebe: "Where is Emilio? Where is our brother!"

"He is dead. I vanquished him."

The room filled with shocked silence. Piper and Paige looked surprised at her. Neither of them had been able to overcome their demons but she, the one without active powers, had successfully taken her Ripper Demon down. Phoebe nervously tried to read the reactions of her ex-lover's sisters. She hoped they would respect the rules of the game and give her a quick death.

"He tried to kill me so I killed him. Sorry."

"He's really dead?" Esmeralda's emotional voice cut through the tension-filled room like a knife. Phoebe took a closer look at the dark woman and realized that she probably must have been Emilio's twin sister. The resemblance was quite striking. Shit!

Phoebe swallowed before she could answer. "Yes."

For an agonizing minute nothing happened and Phoebe could almost see her whole life flash before her eyes. Suddenly there was a loud clasp of two hands quickly coming together and all three of The Charmed Ones jumped a little as if they had been struck. But no one had been hit; the two female Ripper Demons had just done a high five.

"YES!" The blonde demon hugged the dark one.

"Finally!" The dark demon kissed the blonde one in a not very platonic way.

After the passionate kiss the blonde demon turned to Phoebe and gave her a warm smile. "You just made our job much easier!"

Phoebe, who just moment ago thought that she would be slowly tortured to death, was absolutely outraged: "He was your brother!"

Esmeralda, who had started to guide Piper to take a seat in the sofa, grinned happily: "Twin brother to be exact. But he was a pain in the ass."

Piper refused to sit down. Instead she rather rudely swatted Esmeralda's helping hand away. "Enough with the chit chat. Where are my sons?"

The blonde demon suddenly looked serious. "Well, Pepper… "

"Piper!"

"Sorry. Piper, we have a little bit of a problem… "

"What! What problem? There is a problem with my sons?" Piper's voice started to get panicky.

"Calm down, Pepp… Piper. Nothing serious. Just something a little unfortunate that we didn't plan to happen."

"Just tell me what happened!"

Esmeralda butted in: "What Jenny is trying to explain is that something went wrong with the Mouyawan Spell… "

"You did the spell wrong!"

"Yes... No... It was supposed to take your sons to a safe place on the East Coast - in case any of you survived and started to look for the boys. The Mouyawan Spell is a trans-dimensional jump spell that can be used as a transporter. It shifts you swiftly through The Mouyawan Dimension for a hundred of a second before it transports you back to this world and a location of choice. It also works as power dampener which was ideal for this kind of assignment."

"So what went wrong?" Piper dreaded the answer.

Esmeralda scratched her head with her uninjured hand. "I don't know! It should have been good but it misfired. They are still in The Mouyawan Dimension and I don't know really where they are… "

"You have lost my sons in another dimension!" Piper looked like she was about to explode.

Esmeralda, who never been able to take criticism very well, got mad quickly. "Calm down!"

Piper started to go slowly towards Esmeralda who was ready for a fight. "Don't ask me to calm down!"

Jenny suddenly interfered. "Ok, ok let's not loose our heads ladies! We need your help Pepp… Piper. With your blood we can easily get to the other dimension without The Urn of Moth and track the kids down. Are you in?"

"Just tell me what to do."

"Ok, this is going to hurt a little bit… "

* * *

Benny put the report down. He breathed out slowly. He didn't like the idea of the little boys alone in The Mouyawan Dimension. Unlike any of The Ripper Demons or The Charmed Ones he actually had some knowledge about that particular dimension, and it was a pretty weird place.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 12. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part IV – Finale Finale"…


	12. Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part V

_Author's Note – Thank you once again, Ligia Elena and Laurie Lu, for your reviews on my last chapter. I also would like to thank Mediatorsk for her patience, feedback and help with my English – tusen tack vännen.  
_

_I'm sorry for updating after such a long time but hopefully there is still someone out there that wants to read this story.  
_

Chapter 12. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part V – Finale Finale

Benny's Report, Day 110– around 10.00 (p.m.)

Benny sat by his little IKEA-lamp under the Halliwell manor and continued to read the report from his agents. It was a though day if you were a Charmed One. The two remaining Ripper Demons – Jenny and Esmeralda, had the Halliwell sisters at their mercy. They had initially planned to kidnap Piper's two sons but something had gone wrong with The Ripper Demon's transportation spell and the two young boys were now stuck in The Mouyawan Dimension.

In an attempt to get the kids back, Jenny and Esmeralda had convinced the oldest Halliwell to participate in a Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell to locate her sons in the foreign dimension. Benny didn't like the situation at all - he never liked the thought of little ones – demon, Kalla Bong or human, being in any kind of danger.

Benny had to admit that using the spell was an inventive solution to the problem but it was also very risky. His three agents – Björn, Agneta and Annifrid, who had followed The Charmed Ones to the Ripper Demons, could be exposed to the Dark Magic performed. Kalla Bongs were possibly the strongest catalysts in The Universe; if they got involved in magic or another dimension… who knew what kind of things would happen?

* * *

Piper had just agreed to participate in The Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell to travel to another, unknown dimension and save her sons. She didn't know anything about the spell but as long as it could get her closer to Wyatt and Chris, she was ready to roll.

"Ok, this is going to hurt a little bit… " Jenny - Esmeralda's blonde sister or lover or whatever she was, expertly took Piper's hand in a firm grip, placed it over a green little bowl on the sofa table and made a deep cut with a pocket knife.

"Ow!" Piper and her sisters gasped almost simultaneously when the Ripper Demon sliced her with the knife. Piper's hand started to bleed into the bowl almost immediately.

After that Jenny shoved a half-eaten hamburger in Piper's mouth. "Now take a bite."

Piper took a bite. She hadn't eaten fast food for so long and as a chef she was disgusted.

Jenny gave her a wink. "I don't know which is worse; having your hand cut open or eating that terrible burger."

Piper's hand hurt an awfully lot but she tried her best not show any of the pain she was feeling. The little bowl under her hand was quickly filling up. Jenny was lighting a ring of candles around them and when she was done she started to roll a joint.

"I never really had the patience for all this magic kind of mumbo jumbo so I always needed a little help to get into the mood. You know what I mean?"

Esmeralda came out of Jenny's bedroom and made a disgusted face when she saw her sister light up the joint with one of the candles. "I wish you could stop that every time we are doing a spell. To master the Dark Arts you need to have a clear mind."

Jenny shrugged and spoke with the spliff hanging from the corner of her mouth: "Well, you say tomato and I say… "

"Never mind. I think I found it, the thing that can solve The Dual Transporter Synchronicity Problem."

Jenny saw what Esmeralda was holding in her hands and laughed. "Brilliant!"

Esmeralda was holding a pair of handcuffs. Phoebe started to blush; she recognized those very well - she and Emilio had used them frequently.

Piper eyed the two Ripper Demons suspiciously, she didn't like The Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell so far and things were getting more and more bizarre. Before she could react Esmeralda had cuffed her herself to Piper's left wrist. "Hey! What are you doing?"

Esmeralda gave her a mocking smile: "Did you think I would let you go into that dimension all alone so that you could get away with your two precious sons? Think again."

Jenny walked behind the two of them and cut off strands of their long hair. She twined the two locks together so they became a thin little rope. Afterwards she dipped it into the bowl of Piper's blood and painted a big 'X' on the floor in front Piper with it. She held up the little rope. "This will be a cord between our realm and The Mouyawan Dimension. After you have found your boys, you will climb back to our world on this rope. Do you understand?"

Piper gave her a disbelieving look. The little rope made out of Piper and Esmeralda's hair twined together was super thin and barely longer than a hand. Jenny left it floating unnaturally in the air, above the 'X'.

Jenny continued to explain: "It's much bigger in the other dimension. It will be like a big rope that you can climb on."

"Ah." Piper felt a little relieved.

The bowl under Piper's hand was now filled to the brim with blood. Jenny took one of Esmeralda's colorful scarves that were lying on the sofa and made it into a bandage for Piper's hand. "Sorry for hurting your hand before Pepper, but it is essential for The Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell. Though I must say that you have been a good sport about it so far."

"For the last time my name is Piper and can we please just get on with it."

Jenny smiled. "Of course. To complete the spell all you need to do is to drink it up." She gave Piper the bowl of blood.

Piper stared at the bowl. There was a lot of blood in it. Her blood. You have to be some kind of idiotic, vampire loving Goth-freak to get off on drinking your own blood, or anyone else's blood for that matter. Otherwise it is just disgusting. She closed her eyes and thought of her two sons alone in another dimension, then she drank all of it. The world turned inside out, Piper felt herself fall.

* * *

Björn, the Kalla Bong agent assigned to Piper, watched with horror as she drank the bowl of blood. He and his colleagues were also in the room, invisible to The Charmed Ones and The Ripper Demons. They had been following every turn of events, every exchange between the two parts, trying to figure out what would happen next, how things would end.

While Piper drank her own blood, Jenny read from an old book. The air around them became warm and humid, like it does before a thunderstorm on a summer day - full of electricity and a sense of calm before the storm. Even the lights in the room felt different, more subdued and foreboding. Suddenly all the lamps and outlets in the room went off in a rain of sparkles. Some kind of dazzling light or a hole just above Piper and Esmeralda became visible. As the light engulfed the two women all the candles around them started to burn with a brighter flame. Strange voices filled the room; they sounded like a mix between whispers and a Russian man's choir. It had an ominous, apocalyptic feel to it. A wind stronger than the air from a jet engine came from the hole in the roof. The voices became louder.

A bigger copy of the little rope appeared hanging from the bright hole in the roof. "Grab it!" Jenny screamed, trying to make herself heard over the overwhelming sound from the wind and the voices. Piper seemed hardly aware of anything in the room anymore but Esmeralda gave Jenny a nod and grabbed the rope. Then the weirdest thing happened – Piper and Esmeralda fell upwards into the whole, into the strange light. As if gravity no longer mattered.

Björn didn't think, he threw himself after the two women before they vanished into The Mouyawan Dimension.

The wind, the humid atmosphere and the voices went away as soon as the two witches had disappeared through the hole in the roof. The hole itself closed. The only reminder of what had happened was the 'X' on the floor, written in blood and the little rope floating above it. An angry neighbor banging on the wall disrupted the aerie calm in the room. "Stop that noise immediately! I will not tolerate any loud or bad music!"

Everyone in the room was a little too dazed to find the angry neighbor's shouts particularly funny. No one said anything for half a minute.

"WOW!" Jenny took a long drag on her joint. "That was… that was so… wow! Just like a frigging Rammstein concert!"

"What will happen to them now?" Phoebe's quiet question got Jenny out of her amazement over the effects of the spell.

"Well, The Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell will hopefully take Piper to the boys. Or close the boys… It's a very effective locating spell. They take the boys with them and they climb up on the rope back to our dimension." Jenny pointed at the little rope floating in the air.

"Ok." Phoebe became less worried. "That doesn't sound too complicated."

But then Jenny took one of the candles and set the rope on fire.

Falling from one dimension to another can't really be described in words. Having to experience a Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell at the same time makes it even more confusing and overwhelming. Blood red patterns, not unlike huge veins started to cloud Piper's vision as soon as she had drunk all the blood. Whispers from her past and her future filled her head. She felt a pull towards the red patterns, the veins – they were pulsating, changing direction every second and all she could do was trying to follow. It was impossible - the whispers and the red wanting to explode in her head. Suddenly it felt like someone had ejected her out of herself and punched her in the stomach. Not much different from being born…

Piper and Esmeralda fell for half a second before they landed hard on a wet, muddy slope. They continued to fall, or rather roll down, for the rest of that second. It wasn't very pleasant since they were handcuffed to each other and injured from before. Their tumble down finally ended with a big splash in some kind of water. After they had disentangled rather painfully from each other and gotten over the worst of the shock, both Piper and Esmeralda started to look around. Thankfully the pond they landed in was shallow, the water only reached them to their waists. It was very dark but they seemed to be in a forest or a jungle.

"Over there!" Esmeralda pointed to the top of the hill from where they have fallen. Piper could see a thick rope hanging in the air, weirdly light from above by some kind of invisible spot. She realized that it was hers and Esmeralda's hair, twinned together. It was much bigger in this dimension – big enough to handle the weight of one or two persons, just as Jenny said it would be.

"Is that our rope? From the other side?"

"Yep, that's our rope all right, our ticket back home."

Piper watched the rope up on the hill and was thinking of how to get up on that slippery slope without problems. Suddenly the rope was on fire. It started to curl up before it disintegrated into the flames. The air was filled with the stench of burned hair. "It's supposed to do that?"

Esmeralda looked up and gasped. "No! NOOOOOOO!"

There was no longer a rope hanging there, just flames and smoke. Slowly it dawned on Piper what just had happened… the unthinkable - they had no longer a way out of The Mouyawan Dimension.

* * *

The mobile phone beside Benny suddenly started to beep. It was a text message from Annifrid: 'Björn gone into the other dimension with Piper and Esmeralda. They can't get back. '

Benny knew what that meant - everything he had feared… The Curse of Kalla Bong.

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 13. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part VI – Finally Finale"…


	13. Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part VI

_Author's Note – Thank you once again Laurie Lu and Ligia Elena for your consistency of giving me reviews for this story. Also thank you to Mediatorsk & PaigetheSuperWhitelighter for your kind feedback. I have been really bad at replying the reviews but would you believe me that I didn't figure out that function until a couple of weeks ago? Stupid me. _

_I had planned this big, fat last final chapter but then I thought that maybe it would be too long so I have now made two chapters out of one. Was it a bad idea? Let me know. And Laurie Lu, Paige is in this a tiny, little bit (and much more in the next) but I hope you can forgive me. I will definitely let Paige suffer more in the future, I promise ;)_

Chapter 13. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part VI – Finally Finale

Benny's Report, Day 110– around 11.00 (p.m.)

Benny sat alone under the house of the Halliwell sisters with the last message from his agents in his hand. He was truly shaken. One of his finest agents - Björn, had deliberately gone into another dimension with the woman he was supposed to spy on. It was against all protocol!

He was overwhelmed by guilt; he should have seen this coming. Björn had showed signs of having sympathies for Piper Halliwell before. If Benny had relieved him of duty this wouldn't have happened. Now, Björn was lost in another dimension with no way of getting back and it was all Benny's fault. He closed his eyes and held the mobile tight in his hand as if Björn's life depended on it. He was not going to loose one of his agents like this. No way. Benny was going to find a way to rescue Björn. Even if that meant he had to use magic and once again invoking The Curse of Kalla Bong.

* * *

The two women stood still in the water watching as the last remains of their way home were nothing but a few wisps of smoke. None of them could believe it - they were stranded in an unknown dimension. Esmeralda started to hyperventilate; she dug her fingers painfully into Piper's arm.

"Oh my God! The rope is gone… the rope is gone… Oh my God, THE ROPE IS GONE! We can't get back! Oh God, what are we going to DO?"

Piper took a deep breath and swatted some weird insects away as she looked around where they were standing. Where were they? The air was humid and warm – it felt as if it was going to rain soon. It was very dark, probably night, but as her eyes grew more accustomed to the surroundings she saw that they were standing in the middle of a pond in some kind of jungle. The vegetation was strange and thick, all plants and the trees having red colors instead of green. The water they were standing in only reached them to the waist but it was hard to tell how deep it was a few feet away. In the corner of her eyes she saw something moving towards the water. "Esmeralda… "

"What are we going to do? The rope is gone… no way back. Oh fuck! What are we going to do! " Esmeralda was still in shock, rambling on about the rope.

" …Esmeralda, I think we better get out of this puddle now." Piper yanked in the handcuffs that were holding them together, hoping the other woman would come out of it.

Esmeralda suddenly became aware of Piper beside her and yanked her hand angrily back. "What!"

Piper pointed in the direction of where she saw something move. As her eyes got better and better in the dark she realized it was an alligator-shaped animal that slowly was sliding into the water. When it touched the water it started to smoke, like the animal was scolding hot. The alligator or whatever it was also started to glow with a warm white light. It looked really big.

"Oh Shit!"

Both Piper and Esmeralda started to move as fast as they could to the nearest strand. But they soon found out how hard it was to move quickly in the water handcuffed to each other. As they got to the riverbank they were met with another problem – it was almost impossible to get up on the muddy slopes. They tried but they just glided back into the water again. The luminescent alligator was closing in on them. When it opened it's huge gap and wheezed at them, smoke was coming out the mouth. Piper closed her eyes; she was petrified. This was not how she thought she would go – a brutal death in some godforsaken jungle-dimension, by the jaws of giant alligator that was shining with more light than a Christmas tree. Then she thought of her two wonderful boys growing up without a mother… No! That was not going to happen! Piper opened her eyes and started to pull herself and Esmeralda in the direction of a huge tree that was leaning over the pond. The water suddenly got deeper and Piper felt how the panicked Esmeralda was pulling her under the surface. The alligator-animal came closer…

The huge, glowing predator was only inches away from Esmeralda and Piper when the water suddenly exploded with a huge splash. Something invisible attacked the animal with incredible force causing the water to boil around them. Piper could hear the alligator-animal scream with rage under the surface as she was struggling to get up. With huge effort she shot up of the water and got hold of a branch from the tree hanging over them. The alligator-animal and the invisible creature continued to fight behind her and Piper had no intention on staying to see who would win. She didn't really know how she managed to climb onto the branch and get to safety with Esmeralda hanging onto her in the handcuffs but moments later they both were laying panting for air, safe on the ground.

"That was… that was too close!" It was all Piper managed to say before she threw up a disgusting mix of pond water her own blood (that she had been forced to drink in order to get the dimension they currently were stranded in).

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Was the only thing Esmeralda was able to say over and over again as she curled up into a fetal position on the ground.

Piper had no energy to try to comfort The Ripper Demon, instead she lay down on her back and took a deep breath and let the seriousness of the situation seep in. What kind of place was this? And where were her two sons? Piper could feel that they were alive, but that was all. She had no idea of their whereabouts or if they were in danger. As she laid still on the ground and the adrenaline from the escape from the pond was slowly going out of her system, Piper started to notice that she was in a lot pain. Every angle in her body ached. She was full of cuts and bruises and her broken collarbone was throbbing with an intensity that was almost unbearable.

Suddenly there was a rustling of the leaves in jungle. Both of the women tensed immediately and looked nervously around. Not another animal! A little figure jumped in front of them, scaring them both. He looked like a smaller version of Gonzo from The Muppet show. The little animal looked intensively at the two women with a furious expression on his face. When neither Piper nor Esmeralda had anything to say, the Mouyawan Gonzo just shook his little head in disappointment. He paced back and forth in front of them working up his anger to an absolute boiling point. Finally he exploded and started to scream at them in a language they couldn't understand. He screamed and flailed with his small arms for a long time. The situation was just too weird for them to react – both Piper and Esmeralda just sat there and took it, unable to respond. Finally the little animal had enough and with a snort he turned his back on them and walked away. Almost seconds after he had left the two women, it started to rain. The rain was lukewarm and tasted like shampoo.

Piper put her head back to the ground and let the rain wash her face. "I don't think I like this dimension."

* * *

Björn looked at them from behind a tree. He was holding his left arm where the giant Mouyawan alligator had bitten him. Björn hadn't really had any time to think before he had jumped in front of the big reptile, he had just done it. It was totally against regulations to risk your life for an assignment like this but he just couldn't bear the thought of Piper getting hurt.

* * *

Piper and Esmeralda were silent for a long time after the little angry animal left them.

Finally Piper snapped out of her thoughts: "So where are Wyatt and Chris? You said this double triple spell was going to get me to my boys."

"Ssssch! Not so loud! Someone can hear us." Esmeralda looked panicked around as to see that they hadn't woken up any more weird animals.

"I don't care, I just want to get my sons. Besides if anyone comes, I just explode them."

Esmeralda snorted. "Yeah, just like you tried to explode us at Jenny's place. Good luck with that."

"Watch this!" Piper said with a growl and tried to explode some of the thick vegetation in front of them. Nothing happened. "Strange… " She tried again but nothing moved, not even a single leaf. Angrily Piper turned to Esmeralda: "What have you done to my powers?"

Esmeralda shrugged. "Nothing. You just suck I guess." Piper gave Esmeralda a look that suggested that she was one second from strangling her so Esmeralda continued: "I promise you that I haven't done a thing to your powers. Seriously, it can be the dimension or the spell that may have messed up your powers. I have no idea, ok? Right now I just want to find your sons and get home as quickly as possible so I suggest that you stop accusing me and start to try to find them."

"How?"

Esmeralda sighed and started to talk to Piper like she was an idiot or a very small child. "The Double Burger Triple Dimension Jump Spell is all about the blood so close your eyes, concentrate and feel the blood calling to you."

Piper did as she was told and again she could see the strange veiny patterns in front of her eyes. The pattern had a certain pull, a strange feeling of direction… "Chris and Wyatt will be a couple of miles in that direction." Piper pointed to the left.

Esmeralda got up with a certain amount of effort and gave Piper her hand to help her up: "Ok, let's move our asses out of here."

* * *

Björn watched them as they started to walk through the jungle and then he followed them within a safe but undetectable distance as he was on the lookout for other dangerous creatures that might hurt them.

* * *

Trying to go from A to B in a jungle is more difficult than you might know. It's as much climbing as walking. Add to this the uncomfortable predicament of being handcuffed to someone else and you will have a pretty good idea of Piper's endeavor as she were trying to get her sons. Eventually the women found a pace and a routine that worked for them. They even managed to have some small talk while they were making their way through the jungle.

"Are you sure it was Jenny that burned the rope?"

"I have no doubt about it." Esmeralda said through gritted teeth. "If… I mean when I get home; I'm going to kill her slowly. I'm will break every bone in her body with a heavy hammer, pierce her ear drums with big, fat nails, let eels eat her intestines while she is screaming with pain. After that I'm going to rip out her eyes and… "

It was rather unnerving to hear all the gory details of Esmeralda's planned bloodbath for Jenny, so Piper interrupted: "But why would she do that? I thought you were… I mean you two looked… eh… close."

"Yeah, as close as two Ripper Demons can get." Esmeralda sounded bitter.

"Huh?"

"What I mean is that this is what Ripper Demons do all the time - we betray each other within a heartbeat. We are raised to be ruthless. We hurt, backstab, and even murder each other as long as it benefits our own interests. It's more or less tradition to be killed by another family member. But right now it just doesn't make sense to me; Ripper Demons get rid of their family members only if we have something to gain and Jenny has nothing to gain by putting me in this dimension. I just don't see how she can throw away me at a time like this? As soon as we had found your boys I would have killed you and gotten back to our dimension with them so that we could start a new family. Everything was so perfectly planned…."

Piper couldn't help to wince as Esmeralda said the last two sentences. Her ex-friend's betrayal still felt like an open wound.

Esmeralda's expression shifted from angry to something undeterminable. "I thought that Jenny and I had something special going on. It's hard to find someone who's ambitions match your own, you know." Then she shook her head and the angriness once again crept back into her voice. "This is so typical of Jenny! She always liked to play games."

"Games? Esmeralda, this is not game. We're stranded in the middle of a jungle in an unknown dimension!" Piper made a sweeping gesture of the surroundings. "She must have had a pretty good reason."

"Oh, I gave her plenty of reasons all right but I never thought she would carry a grudge. She's a Ripper Demon for Chrissakes!"

"Well, I say that you must have done something awful to her for her to do like this. What did you do to her?"

Esmeralda laughed. "Where should I start?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm Jenny's big sister and the number of things I have done to her is countless. Emilio and me had to make sure she was of the right stuff so we were very hard on her when she grew up. As I just said - living in a Ripper Family is tough and we wanted Jenny to survive. You have no idea how many kids my brother and me had to get rid of until we found Jenny to be part of our family. You can very early see if your adoptee has what it takes or not. You have probably seen it yourself with Paige."

Piper remained silent and closed her eyes for a second, not wanting to think of some of the parallels between Paige and Jenny. Sure, Piper had been tough on Paige when she was new to the family and magic but she had done it out of love. The recent complications surrounding Paige and whether she was Piper's sister or not made it even more painful and ironic to think about.

Esmeralda continued, more talking to herself than to Piper: "Growing up and surviving childhood in a Ripper Family… you have to develop a pretty thick skin. If you aren't mean enough you won't live long, especially if you haven't got any powers like Jenny. Emilio and me never thought she would live past her first fifteen years, but she did and she surprised us all. We did some pretty unspeakable things to her as a kid… I just never thought that she would hold it against me."

* * *

Back in our own cozy, dimension, at Jenny's apartment - Phoebe and Paige had watched in horror as Jenny had put the little rope on fire.

"What did you do?" Phoebe was staring at the burning little rope.

Jenny gave them a happy smile. "I just set the rope on fire."

Silently they watched the rope disappear in the flames. Phoebe felt that something was very, very wrong with the whole situation. "But how are they going to get home now?"

Jenny looked up from the remaining ashes of the rope. "They won't… there's no rope left."

"What? WHAT? You just took away the only way for our sisters, for my sister to get home!"

Jenny shrugged. "Yes. You'll get over it."

Before Phoebe could start ranting and raving over Jenny's insane answer, Paige cut her off with a question to Jenny: "Did you plan this all along?"

Jenny just smiled at her.

* * *

Piper and Esmeralda had been struggling through the jungle for hours. Finally they were standing on some kind of plateau where they had full view of a big valley before them. A black river was running through the gorge and the scenery could have been described as beautiful if it weren't for the unnatural colors of the wild jungle (red) and the dark sky (green) that was foreboding a thunderstorm. A thick mist was rising out of some parts of the vegetation, especially in the lower parts of the valley. It made it look very creepy and both of them women couldn't help imagine dangerous creatures hiding in the fog, waiting to attack them.

"Look!" Esmeralda pointed at something by the river.

Piper squinted her eyes and wished she had x-ray vision that could see through all the haze. But then she saw it – a dim light flickering just by the water. The more she looked the more lights she saw. "It's some kind of village down there I think". She closed her eyes and the blood red veins came back, all pointing at the lights. "That's were Chris and Wyatt are. I can feel it."

Esmeralda looked a little hesitant. "You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. Let's go." Piper yanked the handcuffs and they started their journey downwards the slopes of the valley, swatting away the small flies in the warm summer rain.

Piper tried to kill one of the bugs by hitting her arm. "Have you noticed that all the insects speak English?"

"Yeah, it's kind of irritating. I think one of them is trying to sell me 'The Encyclopedia Britannica'."

It was true. All the insects flying around them were speaking to them in English with small, annoying voices. It was hard to hear what they said, especially since they were so many of them. Piper had tried to pick up what they were saying several times in case of getting some important information but when she discovered that most of the flies only wanted her to buy a two-year subscription of "Reader's Digest", she gave up.

* * *

Björn was silently watching the women from a safe distance. He too had seen the lights by the river and was deeply worried. The jungle was full of eyes and whispers. Not whispers from the small, infuriating flies (Björn had finally bought a one-year subscription of "O, The Oprah Magazine" with a 52 discount and a free towel, just to shut them damn flies up), but terrifying, malicious whispers that occupied the air. His excellent hearing could also pick up faint drums that were getting closer and closer.

* * *

"Is that drums I hear?" Piper stopped the two of them and they both stood there and listened intently. For a while they didn't know if it was their steadfast heartbeats or something else.

"Yep. That's definitely drums." Esmeralda actually looked a little bit scared, something that Piper never thought she would see. "Are you sure we are going in the right direction?"

Piper closed her eyes in order to once more see the jaggy lines of read veins. The pattern seemed a little bit more intense, redder this time. "Yes, my sons are in the bottom of this valley and that's where we are going." So they continued their path towards the mysterious lights, as the drums and grew louder and louder. Thankfully the rain increased the force of its downpour and drowned the sound of the scary drums a little. Piper wanting to think about something else for a minute decided to ask Esmeralda a question she had been thinking of asking since they got to the dimension.

"Esmeralda?"

"Yes?"

"Are you never going to ask me about your children?"

"Who?"

"Who! Justin and Emilia of course! Your two beautiful children that you left in our attic, aren't you the least concerned about them?"

Esmeralda just smiled. "You can keep them."

"What! That's not funny!"

"Seriously, you can keep them. Feed them to the dogs or give them away as Christmas presents, do whatever you want do with them."

"How can you say a thing like that? They are your children!"

Esmeralda stopped in her tracks and looked at Piper. "Those weren't my kids. Jenny fixed them for me from her adoption agency or from somewhere."

"That's terrible!"

"You have no idea how easy it is to get a couple of kids these days. If the price is right, that is. That's how Jenny thought we got her… we told her that her parents had sold her to us. But in fact Emilio and me killed them." Esmeralda sounded like she just had told Piper a joke.

Piper was appalled. "You are truly a horrible person! No wonder Jenny wanted to send you to another dimension!"

Esmeralda, who never liked any form of criticism, quickly got angry. Her voice becoming ice-cold: "Being judgemental are we? Honey, you are in no position to preach to me about sisterhood."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"C'mon Piper, you wouldn't have befriended me, confided in me if you were so happy with your sisters."

"I love my two sisters!"

"Ha! I thought you had three sisters? Which one do you exclude from your holy sisterhood - the one that's dead, or the half-breed that you suspect isn't your sister?"

Piper was speechless for two seconds, and then she shook her head. "That was cheap. You are just putting words into my mouth, trying to make me doubt my sisters."

"Oh please! You haven't trusted them in along time and you know it! The truth is that you think they are useless, that you can't rely on them to stand by you and protect your sons."

"You're lying! They are my sisters! We are The Charmed Ones!" Piper's words sounded hollow, even to herself.

Esmeralda looked at her with a mix of pity and contempt. "Yeah right, I guess it was the faith in your sisters and The Power of Three, that made you turn to Dark Magic and me."

A bang in the air announced the thunderstorm coming. A wind swept through the trees and with it came a smell that filled Piper with dread.

Esmeralda sniffed in the air. "Can you feel that?"

"Yeah… it smells like someone is grilling… " Piper felt the panic bubbling up from under the surface. "Meat. It smells like burned meat."

Esmeralda gave her a wicked smile. "Maybe they are grilling you two little brats… "

A flash light up the jungle after Esmeralda's tormenting words. It wasn't as much the flashlight that blinded Piper, as it was the fury that engulfed her from top to toe. They say you see red when you get very angry. Piper saw black. She flung herself on top of the other woman, her hands around Esmeralda's neck. The rain mirrored Piper's feelings by hammering down on their heads with an intensifying roar that drowned the screams from the two. Esmeralda quickly recovered from Piper's attack and turned into a worthy opponent as the fight went on. Their struggle soon became mud wrestling as the rain turned the ground into slippery clay and puddles of dirt. They fought with an unrelenting abandon, using all the strength they could muster from their exhausted, injured bodies, chained to each other by the handcuffs. They lost track of time and universe as they took out all their fears and frustrations on the other, subconsciously egged on by the steady drum beat that got louder and louder. And closer and closer…

They were so consumed by their fight that they never noticed the small feet that suddenly surrounded them. As the rain started to recline Piper and Esmeralda became aware of their surroundings, and the fact that they no longer were alone. More than a hundred little pygmy warriors were standing around them in a ring, watching the two women with intense black eyes and raised spears.

"This isn't good… " Esmeralda stated as she and Piper slowly and painfully disentangled from each other. Both were embarrassed over their fight and the fact that no one of them had won. As they stood up, over a hundred spears hurriedly were pointed in their direction. The little warriors looked worried, as Piper and Esmeralda were twice their height. Piper took a good look at her captors and she thought they all looked like a mix between the mummy pygmies from the film "The Mummy II" and the Mayan ghost in the comic book "The Adventures of Tintin: The Seven Crystal Balls" (great comic by the way). The pygmies all had dark complexion, jet-black hair in an Egyptian haircut, small pointy teeth and big black eyes. Most of them were almost naked, only wearing a small loincloth. The weird eyes and the fact that all of them were nothing but skin and bones made Piper believe that the small warriors were some kind of mummified zombie army.

An older pygmy with a big, golden necklace stepped forward. "Come with us!" He spoke a broken English and he said it in voice that left nothing to argue.

A group of little warriors made a square around Piper and Esmeralda, with their spears pointed at them, as they started to walk behind the pygmy leader.

"Where are you taking us?" Esmeralda asked.

"To The Colonel. He will punish you." The little man said as he walked through the jungle, his back turned to them.

"But we haven't done anything! What can he possibly punish us for?"

"Un-American activities. "

* * *

To be continued in "Chapter 14. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part VII – Finality"…


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